Naruto 21
by squeaks101
Summary: CHAPTER 7 IS NOW UP! Naruto cross with Eyeshield 21. The Konoha Ninjas plan to go to the Christmas Bowl, can their own Eyeshield 21 take them there? Better summary in profile. NaruHina
1. Chapter 1 First Game and New Recruits

Chapter 1 First Game and New Recruits

Naruto walked onto the field, fans cheering all around him. His helmet underneath his arm, the blue eyeshield glimmering in the sun; the large 21 on his back stood out as the crowd started chanting between his name and his nickname.

"Naruto! Eyeshield! Naruto! Eyeshield! Naruto!" He smiled and waved at the large crowd in the stadium, and the crowd went nuts. He slipped on his helmet and snapped on the chin strap, and made one final wave to the crowd as he stepped onto the field.

It was here, it was finally time to take down the best team in Japan and become the new champions. They were in the Christmas Bowl, and the Konoha Ninjas were planning on winning, even when the odds were 50 to 1. But most importantly, it was Naruto's time to take the title of best running back away from the "Real" Eyeshield 21.

He walked to the middle of the field where the coin toss was. Across from Naruto stood the real Eyeshield, and they locked gazes for a moment. The referee broke them from their staring contest and he asked Konoha for their call. "We want heads," Naruto answered, never looking back at his opponent.

"Konoha chooses heads..." he flipped the coin, "...Konoha you choose attack or defend?"

Naruto smiled, "Attack."

The referee announced it to the stadium, "The Konoha Ninjas won the coin toss and have chosen to attack first!" The stadium erupted into cheers.

OoOoO

It was four or five months ago, the start of the football season. The Konoha Ninjas were playing their first game in a spring tournament against a terrible team. That team was the Deimon Devilbats!

Naruto walked up the bleachers and took a seat to watch the game. The only reason he was there was because his best friend Sasuke was the quarterback, oh and also because... Naruto looked over at the cheerleaders. Sakura was the captain cheerleader. Naruto smiled as he looked at her in her short skirt, being flipped into the air. _Hehehe, perfect view, score for me! _Naruto thought proudly. Shikamaru walked over and sat down, Chouji close behind him, obviously with a bag of chips in his hands. "Hows the view Naruto?" Shikamaru asked smiling.

"Shhhhh, dammit, do you want me to get pummeled to death?" Naruto whispered.

"You wouldn't have to worry about that if you didn't do it. Besides, you know the head cheerleader only goes out with the captain of the football team, which is Sasuke by the way," Chouji said between mouth fulls.

"Yea, yea I know," Naruto said scowling.

"Come on, just relax and watch the game, this should be a good game," Shikamaru urged Naruto.

Naruto leaned forward to watch the start of the game. Deimon won the first attack and so their offense took the field. All of a sudden the ground shook as a huge guy ran onto the field and took the center position. "Holy crap," Naruto yelled, "he's as fat as you, Chouji!" Naruto immediately regretted what he said as he looked over to see flames in Chouji's eyes. Naruto, beaten and bruised, promised never to make fun of Chouji's weight again. Deimon had already took the field and were huddled up. The quarterback of Deimon let out a chant, "WE'LL FUCKING KILL THEM! YA-HA!" The team repeated it and got into position. Naruto turned to Shikamaru, "That's one hell of a chant."

"It's for intimidation. That's Deimon's quarterback, his name is Hiruma, and he has mastered the art of intimidation." Deimon hiked the ball and Hiruma fell back for a pass. Looking around he spotted a wide open receiver and launched it. It hit the receiver in the hands and he dropped it. "Not only that but it seems that he has one hell of an arm too,"Shikamaru observed.

"To bad no one can catch, hahaha," Naruto replied. Deimon in the end had to punt and Konoha took position at the 20 yard line. Sasuke stepped on the field and gathered the offense to him. Naruto watched from the bleachers as they broke the huddle and set up for their first attack. "Too bad we can't catch either," Naruto muttered. "So, Shikamaru, show me your magic, what's the play?"

"It's a run to the left," Shikamaru stated matter-of-factly. As if he read Konoha's mind, it was in fact a run to the left, but it was stopped for only a 1 yard gain. The big guy was the one who smashed the running back.

"What's that guys name?" Chouji asked pointing to the huge lineman for Deimon.

"That is Kurita, arguably the strongest linemen in Japan," Naruto answered, "I read about him in a magazine."

On the third play of the Ninja's attack, it was 3rd and 4, their last attack before punting. They had three wide receivers set up on the right side when Sasuke hiked the ball. The pass defense was breaking down under Kurita's pressure and Sasuke knew he had to throw it fast. He scanned the field and saw a wide open reciever who had beaten his man. Just as Kurita broke through, Sasuke launched the ball 40 yards down the field to the wide receiver. He jumped and juggled the ball before dropping it. Sasuke raised his arms in frustration and called on the punt team.

The game went on the same for the first three and a half quarters. It wasn't until there was one minute left to go in the game that the Ninja's got some luck. After another terrible punt by Deimon, the Ninja's were set up at midfield. "So, with only one minute left in the game, what do you think they'll do, Shikamaru?"

He thought for a moment. He closed his eyes and it wasn't until Konoha was setting up for their play, that he opened his eyes. "Its going to be a pass all the way to the 20 yard line, and it will be complete. They will then kick a field goal and take the lead to win. The only way they would lose is if some unknown variable was thrown into the mix." The very next play, Sasuke threw the ball to a wide open receiver who ran to the 20 yard line before being stopped. The Konoha Ninja's then went on to kick a field goal and take the lead.

Shikamaru and Chouji got up and were about to leave when Naruto stopped them. "Umm, Shikamaru?"

"Yea?"

"Would a player who hasn't played the entire game and is coming in for this final kickoff be called an unknown variable?"

"Yea...?"

"Look over there..." Naruto pointed to a small kid walk onto the field. He wore a green eye shield and had the number 21 on his jersey. "You still thinking of leaving Shikamaru?"

"Nope, they had a reason for hiding him this entire game, which means he's probably really good."

Konoha set up for the kickoff and launched it down the field. It was caught by the quarterback, Hiruma, and he ran forward. He was about to be tackled when he tossed it back to the mysterious 21. He took off running, but...

Naruto started cracking up, "So much for secret weapon, he just went the wrong way!"

Shikamaru frowned, "No, its not over yet..." After being yelled at for going the wrong way, 21 stopped and sprinted the other way. In a swirl of dust, he was running so fast Naruto almost lost track of him.

"Holy shit!" Naruto exclaimed, "He's passing everyone! Crap he's in the clear!" Once free from restrictions, 21 took off at full speed traveling the remaining 40 yards in 4.2 seconds.

"4.2 seconds...hmmmm..."Shikamaru muttered.

"Touchdown!!" the referee yelled, "No time left on the clock, Deimon wins!!"

Naruto slumped in his seat, "Wow, that kid was fast, I wonder if I could beat him?"

"Depends if you can run the forty in 4.2 seconds," Shikamaru said.

"4.2?! Last time I checked I was only 4.37!" Naruto said.

"That's not bad, when did you last check your time?" Chouji asked.

"About two years ago, I got lazy after that."

Shikamaru looked at Naruto, "You know, you could probably run a 4.2 now. It's been two years, and I bet you're a lot faster than you were."

"Maybe, but what good will it do me? I'm too lazy for sports, trust me, coaches have told me that to my face many times before."

"You wouldn't even do it to prove you could beat that guy?"

"Nah, got to keep up my reputation."

"Of what, a lazy bastard?" Naruto grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Shikamaru sighed and walked away. Naruto decided to go give Sasuke hell about losing and jumped off the bleachers and onto the field. Sasuke was at the side of the field talking to his team. Naruto walked close enough to hear what he was saying.

"What the hell? We had that game won! You guys expect me to say that we tried our best, that we will try harder next time? Well it's not going to happen! Why couldn't anyone tackle that last guy? If someone had done that the game would have been over!" Sasuke screamed at his team. He chucked his helmet across the field and turned to walk away. "Practice tomorrow and the rest of this week, from 3 to 6." The team groaned as he stalked away.

Naruto walked up to him and Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Soooooo...how's it going?"

"Shut up Naruto, I'm not in the mood for it," Sasuke said as he brushed past Naruto.

"You know, you shouldn't be so hard on them, that guy was good, really good."

"Yea I know, that speed was unreal."

"What you need are some better football players." Naruto suggested.

"The only problem is that no one at our school wants to play. They're too _lazy._" Sasuke said, smiling at Naruto.

"Just have to get the right motivation for them, unfortunately, I have nothing that would motivate me at the moment, so ha." Naruto said smugly.

"I'll think of something," Sasuke said smiling.

At that moment, Sakura walked up and stood next to Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, sorry you guys lost."

He put his arm around her and pulled her close to him, "Nah, its alright, that 21 was just really good."

"Yea, oh and..." she pushed him away and pinched her nose, "go take a shower, you stink!" Naruto laughed as Sasuke started chasing Sakura around. He finally caught her and lifted her in the air. "Put me down, you stink, let go of me!"

He brought her down and kissed her on the lips, immediately shutting her up. Naruto cleared his throat and the two broke apart. "Now that you two are down eating each others faces off, lets go get something to eat that's actually edible."

"What's wrong Naruto, jealous I have a girlfriend and you don't?" Sasuke asked.

"Nah, girlfriends are troublesome," Naruto said.

Sasuke leaned over and whispered in her ear, "In other words yes, and with that, I have found a way to get him to join the football team."

Sakura smiled and shook her head at Sasuke, "That would be mean you know."

"Eh, whatever."

Naruto was already at the other end of the field when he noticed that they weren't following. Irritated he turned and yelled at them, "Hurry the hell up, I'm starving!"

"We're coming, we're coming."

OoOoO

The trio walked into the ramen stand and sat down. Since Naruto was a little kid he always came here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it was his favorite place. Thanks to Naruto, they have now expanded and have more than one stand in the city. They ordered their meals and talked about school life. Sasuke then brought up football again, and started talking about all the different teams all over Japan, but mostly the ones in their league. "You heard of the Zakugaku Chameleons?"

"Yea, I read that they're a no good, gang, crap team," Naruto answered.

"Not this year, they have a sprouting linebacker called Habashira Rui, and I've heard hes whipping them into shape."

"One man can't help a crap team." Unfortunately for Naruto, the Zakugaku Chameleons were also eating ramen in the same stand and heard what Naruto had said. They stood up and walked up behind him. One guy put a hand on his shoulder. Naruto turned around and looked up at the hulk standing before him. Relaxed, Naruto leaned back in his chair, "What can I do for you fine gentlemen today?"

"We're members of the Chameleons, and we don't appreciate what you said about us." Naruto's face immediately paled as he stammered out an apology. "Sorry isn't good enough, I'm afraid we are need going to need compensation." They grabbed Naruto by the collar and threw him outside.

"Ummm, Sasuke a little help please," Naruto pleaded.

Sasuke looked at the guys and then back at Naruto, "Sorry, but I don't want to be killed. If I were you I'd run."

Taking the advice, Naruto took off down the street, the thugs chasing after him. "Why didn't you help him?" Sakura asked.

"No time to explain, come on, I want to watch this," he replied as he ran in the direction Naruto ran off to, dragging Sakura with him."

"Watch what, Naruto get the crap beat out of him?" He didn't reply as they went up on a bridge and got a clear view of Naruto running from the thugs. "So what are we looking for?" Sakura asked.

"Well, that 21 of the Deimon team today ran 40 yards in 4.2 seconds, and if we had a kid like that we could actually win a football game."

"What does this have to do with Naruto?"

"Shhhh, just watch..." Naruto was soon surrounded by the Chameleon's players and one of them punched him in the face. Naruto fell hard on the ground and slowly got up. "Come on Naruto where's your motivation?" Sasuke whispered.

Down where Naruto was the head thug moved closer to Naruto, but stopped. He bent over and picked up a cell phone lying on the ground. "Whats this, is it yours?" the thug asked. Naruto immediately recognized it but didn't say anything. "I'll take that as a yes," he said as he flipped it open. "Whoa, look at these pictures! You really are a perverted boy. I'll think I'll keep this as blackmail, which means you'll do what I say when I say it."

"I'll never do anything," Naruto growled.

"You will if you don't want these pictures to get out, and if they do, no girl will ever talk to you again.."

_What am I going to do,_ Naruto wondered, _I'm surrounded and there's no way I can take them all on. Guess I'll run for it._

Naruto stood up, a determined look on his face. "Here it is!" Sasuke exclaimed. Sure enough, Naruto dashed at the guy holding his phone, snatching it before he even knew what happened. Another thug jumped in his way, and Naruto spun to the side. Once he spun past that guy, Naruto pumped his legs and dashed away from them. They tried blocking him in but he outran them every time. Soon he spotted a large crowd in front of him. _Shit! What am I going to do now?_ Naruto yelled to himself. Suddenly, it seemed as if time slowed down, and Naruto clearly saw a path through the crowd of people. Not bothering with wondering how it happened, he followed his instincts and ran the path he saw. Dodging and juking around people he finally made it past the crowd, and once he got through the group of people, he ran into a subway tunnel and jumped down the steps. The train's doors were beginning to close as Naruto ran to the train, and he knew that he had to dive. He dove forward, and barely missed getting caught in the doors. Naruto sighed in relief and took a seat, he would get off at the next station and get a ride home, then kill Sasuke for not helping him. The Chameleon hugs ran down the steps to the subway and when they saw Naruto was gone, they decided to just go home.

Sasuke stood in disbelief at what he had just seen. He just saw Naruto run exactly the same to the 21 of the Deimon Devilbats. "He's got to join our team," Sasuke said.

Sakura was just as shocked and all she could do was reply with a "uh-huh."

Sasuke smiled a mischievous smile, "Now we just need a girl that likes Naruto to convince him into joining the team."

Sakura's face lit up, "I have the perfect person, just as long as you don't mind that this person is possibly the shyest person in the world."

"As long as she can convince Naruto to join the football team, I couldn't care less."

"Well then lets go."

OoOoO

Hinata had been minding her own business, walking in the park admiring the beauty of it, when she had been ambushed. Sakura and Sasuke had jumped out from the bushes and grabbed Hinata telling her they needed her for something. They then proceeded to drag her to the football club office, where they sat her down and locked the doors.

"Are you guys kidnapping me or something?" Hinata asked.

"No, no, nothing like that. We just need you to do a very important task for us, and I think you'll find that it will be right up your alley," Sasuke said.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well it has to do with a certain boy with blonde hair," Sakura said.

"Naruto-kun? What about him?" Hinata asked, her face looking worried at the thought of Naruto.

"We need him to join the football team, but it seems that the only thing that will motivate him to join is a girl," Sasuke said.

Hinata immediately understood what they wanted her to do, they wanted her to convince Naruto to join the team. "How would I do that?"

"First off, we're making you the manager of the team so it doesn't seem weird to ask him to join, and second..." Sasuke looked at Sakura and grinned, "You're going to have to ask him out on a date and ask him there."

Hinata almost fell out of her chair as she yelled out, "Are you nuts?! There is no way I can do that."

"You have to, please, for the sake of the team. We need a win and Naruto can help us do that. You just need to bring it up casually and ask him."

Hinata thought for a moment and then agreed to do it. "When do you want me to ask him out?"

"The next time you see him," Sakura replied immediately.

"Your kidding me," Hinata said as she rubbed her temples, "All right, I'll do it then."

OoOoO

Hinata was standing in front of the classroom door the next day waiting for Naruto to come out. At the moment, he was being yelled at by Iruka for sleeping during class.

Finally, the door slid open and Naruto walked out. He sighed and turned to leave when Hinata called to him. He turned around, "Oh, Hinata? What are you doing here?"

"I w-was waiting for y-you Naruto-kun," she replied, a slight blush on her face.

"What for?"

"I was w-wondering if y-you'd go get something to e-eat with m-me."

Naruto blinked and then grinned, "Well sure why not, where do you want to go?"

"How a-about to the r-ramen stand?"

"I like your the way you think! Let's go," Naruto said, grabbing hold of Hinata's hand. She blushed as she let Naruto pull her toward the ramen restaurant.

Once they entered the ramen stand, Naruto immediately ordered two bowls of ramen. "So Hinata, why did you suddenly ask me out?"

Hinata blushed, she knew what she _wanted_ to say, but it wasn't what she _had_ to say. Instead she went with the neutral route, "I j-just wanted to g-get to know y-you better."

"Oh," he blinked and then a hint of, what seemed to Hinata, a look of disappointment crossed his face. It was so quick, however, Hinata dismissed it as her mind playing tricks on her, a cruel sick joke, but a joke nonetheless. "So what did you want to know?"

Hinata thought about what to say when she thought of a way to bring up football. "Do y-you play any s-sports?"

"No not really, I just think I would be really bad at them, so I just don't play. That and I guess you could say I'm lazy, so practice isn't very appealing to me," he replied.

"I t-think y-you would be r-really good at s-sports," Hinata said.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, smiling, "You think so?" Hinata nodded her head and smiled back at him. "Well thanks Hinata." He paused for a moment and seemed to look over Hinata's shoulder and then asked, "In your opinion, what sport do you think I should play?"

"I think y-you should p-play f-football," she replied.

"Mmhmm...that's what I thought. You can stop pretending Hinata, I know Sasuke and Sakura hired you, they're sitting right there. In the sunglasses and trench coats, reading the newspaper. No matter their disguise, you can't hide Sakura's pink hair; they're so stupid."

"I'm sorry N-naruto-kun, t-they forced me into it, t-they even m-made me team manager so y-you wouldn't think it w-was weird that I asked y-you to p-play," Hinata said bowing her head.

"Nah, it's alright, I'm just wondering why they chose you to do it." He grinned and raised his eyebrows at Hinata, "Is it because you like me Hinata?" She turned a dark scarlet and quickly shook her head. "I'm just kidding, just kidding." Hinata gave a sigh of relief and looked down at her bowl of ramen. "Hinata, truthfully, do you think I should play football?"

"Y-yes I do," Hinata said, looking into Naruto's eyes, trying to let him know she wasn't pretending to mean that.

He looked into her eyes a little longer and then sighed, "Damn Sasuke to hell. All right I'll play, but on a few conditions..."

Sasuke was immediately next to the table, "Name 'em."

"First, Hinata has to stay the manager of the team," he looked at Hinata who had a confused look on her face and winked, "You got me into this, so you're coming along for the ride. Second, I want to bring in a few other people to the team too, but it might take an hour or two to gather them all."

Sasuke nodded, "So far, it's all a yes."

Naruto grinned and leaned back in his chair, "Last, I want a cool eyeshield and the number 21 like that guy from Deimon."

Sasuke patted Naruto on the back, "Done. We'll call you 'Eyeshield 21.'"

"Why, can't you just call me Naruto?"

"No way, once the other people from school find out how fast you are, they'll be trying to recruit you for every sports team around. I think you'll agree when I say that that is too troublesome."

Naruto laughed, "You know me like a book!"

"Of course I do, now about those other recruits..."

"Yea, about them, they'll be pretty hard to convince, but I'll get it done. The ones I want to recruit are..."

OoOoO

First to be recruited...

**Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji**

Shikamaru's strong point: IQ over 200  
Weak point: Lazy

Chouji's strong point: Super strong when mad  
Weak point: Weak when hungry

Naruto walked through the streets looking for Chouji and Shikamaru. Naruto walked past a restaurant, and out of the corner of his eye, saw a guy stuffing food in his mouth. When he turned his head, Chouji was sitting there stuffing his face with barbecue as Shikamaru shook his head. Naruto walked into the restaurant and sat down next to them. "Hey guys what's up?"

"Chouji's draining all my money, that's what...how troublesome."

"Let me tell you what, I'll buy, but you both have to do something for me," Naruto suggested.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto suspiciously, "What do you want us to do?"

"I want you guys to play football, I'm recruiting for the team!" Naruto said.

"Oh, hell no," Shikamaru replied.

Chouji put down his food and swallowed what he was chewing, "Why are you helping them recruit?"

"Well, since I'm to lazy to really go to practice, I figured I'd try helping them out another way."

Chouji scratched the back of his head, "Sure I'll play, I need something to do anyway."

Naruto laughed and patted Chouji on the back, "That's great!" Naruto looked back at Shikamaru, "Come on, you have an IQ of over 200! You need to play football, it's a game of smarts and strength, and you and Chouji are a team. If Chouji's the strength of our football team, you could be the smarts."

He sighed, "Will you leave me alone even if I say no?"

Naruto smiled, "What do you think?"

"Then I guess I have no choice, I'll play on the team."

Naruto pumped his fist in the air, "Only a couple more people left to recruit, come on guys."

Next up...

**Hyuuga Neji**

Strong point: Confident and extremely athletic  
Weak point: Not humble and looks down on everyone

The two new football players walked with Naruto up to the Hyuuga house and knocked on the door. Neji opened the door and immediately wished he hadn't. "What do you want Naruto?"

"Wellllllll...we want you to join the football team."

"No," Neji slammed the door his face. Naruto knocked again. "Go away Naruto, I'm not joining."

"Aw, come on, we need you! We need your skills. No one else can compare to your level of athleticism." Naruto winked at the two behind him and whispered, "As long as you compliment this guy, he'll do whatever you ask him."

Neji opened the door, "You serious?"

"Of course! We can't do it without you."

"Well then I guess I'll join."

"Good, come with us, we have one more person to recruit, and you will be the one that's going to convince him."

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because your his rival."

Shikamaru groaned, "You don't mean _him, _do you?"

Naruto grinned, "Sorry."

Last to join the team is...

**Rock Lee**

Strong point: Never gives up no matter what  
Weak point: Obsessed with the power of youth

Naruto led the small band of new players into the woods. "Why are we going into the woods?" Chouji asked.

"Because this is where he comes to train," Naruto answered.

"Train for what?"

"Martial arts, he's really good, only second to Neji." Neji smiled at the praise.

They heard a loud crash ahead of them and moved towards the sound. They walked into a clearing and saw Lee punching a tree. Chouji stepped on a twig and Lee turned around at the sound of it snapping. He smiled and waved to the group, "What can the power of youth do for you today?"

"We want you to join the football team," Shikamaru said.

Lee grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his face, "Sorry but I'm busy training for martial arts, I need to be as strong as possible."

Neji stepped forward, "I've joined the team, Lee."

Lee looked surprised, "You have? Why, we have a tournament this weekend."

"They said they needed me, and I guess since they have me they don't need you."

Lee scowled at Neji, "Do not underestimate the power of youth! I will join your team and beat you Neji!"

Naruto turned and whispered to Shikamaru, "That was easier than Neji."

"Yea, it's amazing how dumb they are," he whispered back.

"Ok, now that we have everyone, its time to go back to Sasuke and get our gear.

OoOoO

Sasuke sat in his office, wondering when Naruto was going to get back. As if he read his mind, Naruto walked in followed by Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Lee. Sasuke smiled, "Seems Naruto convinced you all, that's great!"

"So now that we're all here, it's time to give us our jerseys and gear," Naruto told him.

"Fine follow me, I got everything ready. Oh by the way, Naruto I need to talk to you."

"Alright," he said.

Sasuke looked at the others, "You guys go outside, we'll be there in a minute." Once they left Sasuke walked over and sat at his desk. "About you being Eyeshield, Naruto, that means no one can know, not even the team, which means you need to come to practice already dressed or get here early. Can you do that?"

"Yea, that is fine, so only you, Sakura, and Hinata know I'm Eyeshield, right?"

"That's right, now come on." They walked out of the office and into the locker room. In the middle of the room was a box and Sasuke went and opened it up. "Neji, you're number is 52." Sasuke threw him the jersey and pointed to a shelf, "Grab pads and a helmet that fits. The rest do the same once you get your jersey. Shikamaru your 57, Lee yours is 85, Chouji you have number 97."

"What about Naruto?" Lee asked.

"Naruto's not playing, he's just going to be the assisstant manager; he's going to help Hinata," Sasuke said.

Lee shrugged, "Alright."

"Okay everyone, I want you all to go out to the field, we'll be there in a moment, just have to sort out a few things." Everyone nodded and left the room. "Ok then Naruto, here's your jersey, number 21, and a helmet with a blue eyeshield."

Naruto took the helmet and held it in front of him, his face reflecting back at him. Naruto smiled and looked back at Sasuke, "Let's go meet the rest of the team!"


	2. Chapter 2 Teammates and Rivals

**Note!:** changed some things in chap 1 because it made chap 2 hard to write. you guys don't really need to go back and read it agian. all i changed was that no one knows Naruto is Eyeshield now except for Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata.

So anyway, this chapter wasn't out as soon as I hoped, but what can you do? hope you enjoy, kinda a cliff hanger at the end, but not really. read and review please!!

Chapter 2 Teammates and Rivals

Naruto slipped on his helmet for the first time. He walked out and looked around at the others, excited. It was going to be their first team practice and Naruto couldn't wait to see what they could do. "Come on, lets head out to the field, I'll introduce you to the permanent players," Sasuke said.

"Permanent? What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"Not everyone on the team is a permanent member; most are assistants we pulled from other sports teams to help out. Why do you think we suck so bad?" Sasuke said with a "duh" tone in his voice.

"Well then, lead the way," Neji said. They all walked out to the practice field and Sasuke called the team to him.

There were a lot fewer people than Naruto expected as the two groups eyed each other. "Who the fuck are these guys," one of the others asked, a number 4.

"These," Sasuke said, gesturing toward the new players, "are new recruits that are now permanent players with us, all sophomores."

Another player, this one number 92, smiled under his helmet, "That's great; we really could use the help."

Sasuke smiled and walked up to Shikamaru "So, at the end here is Shikamaru, next is Neji and Lee, then Chouji, and finally Eyeshield 21."

"Eyeshield 21?" 92 asked. Everyone else looked at Sasuke with a confused look.

"That's his code name, he's a..." Sasuke thought for a moment, but his mind was blank.

"I'm a college superstar from America; I went to the best football school there. I went to Notre Dame," Naruto cut in.

"_The _Notre Dame!?" number 4 exclaimed.

"Yep, that's the one. See we don't want other schools to try and recruit him, so we are keeping his identity a secret," Sasuke explained.

Naruto stood, embarrassed that he made himself sound so good, but also nervous that he might not live up to their expectations. _Why did I say that? Now I have to act like a superstar from Notre Dame! I'm so screwed._

Before anyone asked anymore questions, Sasuke went on to introduce the veteran players. "All our veteran players except for me are juniors, and this is their last year to play football. So, right here, number 4, is Inuzuka Kiba, our middle linebacker and one of our offensive linemen. Number 92, over there is Kankuro offensive line and outside linebacker. Iwasaki Kazushige, 98 and Joshuyo Keiki, 99, both on the offensive and defensive lines. I'm the only other permanent player on the team, number 1 Uchiha Sasuke, quarterback."

"That only makes ten players," Shikamaru observed.

"Yea well, we're only short one person, we can manage that better than five," Sasuke replied.

"So what position do they play?" Kiba asked.

"I don't know, that's what we're here to find out," Sasuke replied. "The only person I'm sure about is Eyeshield, and he's going to be our running back."

Naruto and the group took the field and Sasuke set up two cones about 40 yards away. "First is the 40 yard dash, let's see how fast you guys really are. Chouji, you first."

Chouji stepped up to the line, and when Sasuke blew the whistle, Chouji ran as fast as he could...which wasn't very fast. When he finally reached the 40 yard marker, his time was 6.3. Shikamaru went after him; he stepped up to the line and muttered something about this being troublesome and as he jumped off the line, he was obviously not trying his hardest. He ended with a time of 5.23 seconds. Lee volunteered to go next and stepped up to the line. "Let the power of youth show you how it's really done!" He positioned himself in a three point stance and when Sasuke blew the whistle, Lee dashed forward at an amazing speed. His final time ended up being 4.5.

"Beat that Neji," Lee whispered as he walked by.

Neji smirked and stepped up to the line, "Don't worry, I will." Neji did beat Lee, with a time of 4.45 seconds.

Lee sighed in disappointment, "You'll never let me win, will you?"

Neji snorted, "Nope."

Finally it was Naruto's turn. He nervously stepped up to the line and fell into position. As Sasuke blew the whistle, Naruto was already jumping off the line and pumped his legs as hard as he could. Before he realized it, he had already crossed the line. He turned to look at Sasuke who was staring at the stopwatch with a shocked look on his face. Naruto sighed, "That bad, huh?"

"Are you kidding? You just ran the 40 in 4.2 seconds flat! That's the fastest any human can run!" Sasuke shouted.

Naruto grinned, puffed out his chest, crossed his arms, and said in a deep voice, "Well what do you expect, I am Eyeshield 21, you know!"

"So what now?" Shikamaru asked.

"We go to passing drills, see if any of you can catch the ball; except for Chouji, you'll go work with the line. I'll be around to see how you're doing later." Chouji walked off with the rest of the linemen towards the sleds. The rest of them followed Sasuke to a basket of footballs. "Ok, so I'm going to call out a name and that person has to run out and catch a pass, easy right?" Everyone nodded.

By the end of the drill, Naruto caught about 50 percent of his passes, Shikamaru and Neji both caught 100 percent, and Lee caught a pathetic 0 percent. Sasuke looked at Lee, "You are obviously not a wide receiver, but you sure were good at knocking _down_ the ball."

Lee bowed, "Sorry."

"No it's all right, you'll be our fullback, the fullback runs with the ball or blocks people, no catching."

"All right!" Lee exclaimed.

Sasuke next turned his attention to Shikamaru and Neji, "You two will be our wide receivers; we'll figure out defense later. Eyeshield, you're obviously the running back." Sasuke paused to look around, "We'll end the practice early today, we were just here to see the rookies right now. So let's go get Chouji; we're going to watch the Oujou versus Deimon game."

"Oujou versus Deimon, that's today?" Kiba asked. "Deimon's going to be crushed!"

Lee raised a thick eyebrow, "Why? Is Oujou really good?"

"Next to Shinryuuji, Oujou is one of the best teams out there," Shikamaru answered.

"Well, who's Shinryuuji?" Lee asked.

"They are the best high school football team out there. They have been a dynasty for a really long time, and no one has defeated them, not even Oujou when they had their golden generation." Lee was about to ask who the golden generation was, but Shikamaru answered before he could, "A group of top-notch players entered Oujou, and with their super strong defense, they were able to shrink the point difference between the two to a few points. Then when a freshman joined the team, a Shin Seijuro, the Oujou White Knights finally surpassed Shinryuuji in points. However, the last game against Shinryuuji before the golden generation graduated, Oujou was winning 16-3 with five minutes to go in the last quarter. Nobody believed Shinryuuji could catch up, everyone thought their dynasty was over, but the coach sent two of his own freshmen onto the field. Their name's are Agon and Unsui, and by the end of the game Shinryuuji won 17-16."

"In five minutes they were able to catch up!?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yep, those brothers, Agon and Unsui, completely annihilated the golden generation's defense."

"But Oujou is still really good, right?"

"Yea, as long as they have Shin Seijuro, they are a top ranked team," Shikamaru said. He raised his arm before anyone could speak, "If you want to know why, just go to the game and see for yourself."

They walked over to find Chouji sitting on the ground eating a bag of chips. Next to him was the sled, or what was left of it. "Sorry, they told me to hit it as hard as I could, and I broke it," Chouji said scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke just shook his head, smiling, "No that's a good thing, that's what we need from you, but when we get the new sled, don't break that one."

"All right, I promise."

"Good, now get showered and changed, we leave for the stadium in twenty minutes."

Naruto was walking toward the locker room when he stopped; he remembered he couldn't change with the others. _I'll just wait out here until everyone leaves,_ Naruto thought.

"W-would you like a t-towel, Eyeshield-kun?" a small voice asked from behind him.

Naruto turned around and smiled, "Why yes, yes I would. Thanks Hinata."

"Y-you're welcome." She handed him a towel and smiled.

He smiled back, "I've got to go, I'm going home to change, you know, so no one sees me. We're going to the Deimon game later, are you going to come too?"

"W-well I d-don't know..." she muttered.

"Come on Hinata, please?" He gave her the biggest grin he could give.

She blushed and looked at the ground, "A-all right."

"Great, cya later." Naruto ran off in the direction of his house and disappeared from Hinata's sight.

OoOoO

"When the others get here, you need to remember what you do for the team," Sasuke said, "Can you tell me what you do right now?" Sasuke and Naruto were standing in front of the stadium; they were the first from the team to arrive.

"It's alright, I got this. I'm just going to tell them I'm theeeee...," Naruto scratched his head, thinking. "Oh I got it, tell them I'm helping Hinata manage the team!"

"You mean the assistant manager?" Sasuke said rolling his eyes.

"Yea, that!"

"Now that you mention Hinata, I have to call her and tell her and Sakura to be here."

"I already told Hinata to come, but why Sakura?"

"Good, Hinata is the manager, so her job is to help gather info on the other teams, and as for Sakura, well she's my girlfriend, so...duh." Sasuke pulled out his cell phone and dialed Sakura's number. "Hey Sakura, it's me...yea...can you get down to the football stadium, we're watching Deimon's game...ok ...great...yea and see if Hinata's left for the game yet...bye." He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket, "They should be here in about fifteen minutes."

At that moment Kiba, Kankuro, Neji, and Lee showed up and stood next to Sasuke and Naruto. "How does the power of youth treat you my dear friends!" Lee shouted.

"Shut up Lee," Neji said, punching him in the arm.

"Oww, alright, no need to hit." Lee rubbed his shoulder and then looked at Naruto.

They exchanged glances before Kankuro asked, "Hey Naruto what are you doing here?"

"He's the assistant manager to the team, "Sasuke replied.

"Who's the manager then? Kiba asked.

"Hinata is," Neji answered.

"Really? That's great," Kiba said.

Lee pointed past Naruto, "What is that?" They all turned to see two chariots pulled by guys with dog treats on their heads. Behind them was a small nasty looking dog, teeth bared and chasing the carts at full speed. In the carts were the Deimon players. Once they came to a halt, Hiruma picked the dog up and put it in a cage, and then the team entered the stadium.

"That's one hell of an entrance," Neji said.

"Tell me about it," Sasuke replied. They stood there for about ten minutes when Chouji, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Sakura all arrived. "Now that we're here, let's go watch this game."

They entered the stadium and saw Kazushige and Keiki waving at them. They walked up the steps to their seats. Naruto covered his ears and yelled, "Why the hell is it so loud?"

Sasuke pointed down to the field at on Oujou player, "Sakuraba Haruto, the pop star of Oujou and the so called ace."

Once they got to their seats, they sat down and waited for the game to start. "So, Shikamaru, how much do you think Oujou will win by?" Naruto asked.

"Well, if Shin is playing, then they'll probably score close to one hundred points," he replied.

OoOoO

Sena Kobayakawa sat on the bench, waiting for the right time to change. Sena was Deimon's Eyeshield, and no one could know about it. Sena was startled when Hiruma slammed the butt of his gun on the ground and yelled at them, "Listen up you bastards! This game is different than the other ones we have played so far. We are not here to play football, we're here to wage war against the other team!"

A player sitting next to Sena was shaking, "That means Shin will play right? I don't even want to think about last year's game."

Sena turned to Kurita, "Last year? What happened?"

Kurita gave a shaky smile, "Two of our helpers got broken bones because of Shin."

Sena gulped and started sweating. Hiruma smiled, "It's all right, Eyeshield 21 will be the one taking all the hits, you guys will be fine."

Sena nearly fell off the bench. He slowly started backing away and was about to turn and run out of there when he heard the others talking. "I'm glad Eyeshield is on our team, with him here it seems like everything is going to be alright."

Sena lowered his head, _What am I doing? All of them are counting on me, I can't run away._ Sena grabbed his bag and ran around the building. He was just finishing putting on his pads when he heard a loud obnoxious voice, "Aw come on! Just lend me a couple dollars for a soda! Please? I'm dying here!"

Then another, calmer voice answered, "No Naruto, you never pay me back. Now hurry up, we need to get back to our seats or we'll miss the start of the game."

The other voice again, "Hey lets cut through here!"

Sena saw the two come around the corner, one in an orange t-shirt and blue shorts, blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks on his cheeks. The other was taller and had dark onyx colored hair and black eyes, wearing a dark blue t-shirt and shorts. Sena realized his helmet was off and was too slow in reaching for it. They were standing next to him when he finally wrestled it out of the bag. He slipped it on as one word ran through Sena's mind, _Damn._

Naruto stood in front of the short brown haired kid and stared at the number on his chest, _Eyeshield 21._

Sasuke smirked, "So you're Eyeshield 21, you might not remember me, but I was on the team you beat a couple days ago."

Sena backed away in fear, "Please don't hurt me, I was only playing the game!"

"Hurt you? Why would we hurt you? I just want to congratulate you and wish you luck in the game," Sasuke said.

Sena sighed in relief and looked over at the blonde kid, "Why is he staring at me?"

Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the ribs, "Ow! That hurt!" Naruto said elbowing Sasuke back.

"This here's Naruto, he's our new..."

"Assistant manager," Naruto finished. He looked back at Sena, "What's your name?"

"I'm not really allowed to tell you that, you see no one is supposed to know who I am. As far as they know I'm a famous guy from Notre Dame, so could you not tell anyone?"

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other then Naruto said, "Did you say a famous player from Notre Dame?"

"Yea...why?"

"Naruto, you bastard, you just stole this guy's story! I thought you was smart for thinking that up," Sasuke said, punching Naruto on the head.

"I did not! It just came to me, seriously!" Naruto yelled back, rubbing his head.

Sena was even more confused, "What are you guys talking about?"

Sasuke rubbed his chin, "Look, just meet us sometime and we'll talk alright?"

Sena nodded his head, "Alright..." The stadium shook as Oujou was announced and Sena looked around, "How about after the game?"

"Alright, meet us at Ichiraku's," Naruto said.

"Will do, see you gu..." He was cut off as a strange dog grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him around the corner.

"What a weird team," Sasuke said shaking his head.

"Yea, but we have our share of weirdoes too, you know," Naruto replied.

"Yea, like you."

"Actually I was talking about Lee."

Sasuke laughed, "Come on, idiot, let's get back to our seats."

OoOoO

Sena brushed himself off after Cerberus had let go of his leg. Kurita ran up to him and whispered, "Sena, you didn't run away!"

"Yea, well I'm the Notre Dame hero, it wouldn't have been cool for me to run away. Even if I'm a false hero, I'll do my best for the team."

Kurita smiled, "Thanks."

Sena walked onto the field, legs shaking, _I can't believe I'm doing this! I'm going to be killed!_ The coin toss was over, the decision made, and Deimon was attacking first.

Sena joined the others in the huddle when someone pointed over at the Oujou bench, "Look! Shin isn't playing; we don't have to worry about him!"

Hiruma formed an evil grin, "Now's our chance, we run with Eyeshield! Everybody listen to me, we are not here to beat these guys, we're here to slaughter them! Now everyone...WE'LL FUCKING KILL THEM! YA-HA!"

"WE'LL FUCKING KILL THEM! YA-HA!" the team cheered back.

They got in their positions but Hiruma walked up to Sena, "Look fucking shorty, everyone in this damn stadium thinks we'll lose by a hundred points. I want you to knock them out of their seats and prove them idiots!"

Sena gulped and nodded his head. He got into position and pressed down on the ground, _Wow, these cleats are different than the ones I used in the last game, they don't slip!_ Sena looked up at the Oujou defense and then back down; _I want to try these out!_

"Hut! Hut! Hut!" Kurita snapped the ball to Hiruma and Sena dashed forward and grabbed the football. He ran around to the right of the pile, but was surrounded, so he cut back to the left. As he was about to cut again, one of the Oujou players smacked the ball from his hand.

"GET THE BALL!" Hiruma shouted. Everyone dove for the ball, but when the mess was over, it was Kurita who came up with the ball.

Off on the sideline, Shin clenched his fists, _I can't be sure, but this guy could be the one..._

The Oujou coach looked over at Shin and frowned, _He's tensed, what did he see...?_ "Shin, what did you think of that guy?"

"I can't be sure, but he must be a touch football player who has played for a long time. Judging from the way he held the ball he is probably self taught."

_All that from one play? _the coach thought. "I see..."

"I'm not done. The way he changes direction cannot be learned in a day, he's not an amateur...but the way he runs, he is afraid to get hit, so he's not a threat to us yet."

Sakuraba looked over at Shin, "That's amazing! You could tell that from one play? Oh, and how do you know he is self taught?"

"Because he holds the ball wrong," Shin answered matter-of-factly.

Back on the field Hiruma stormed up to Sena, "Show me the way you hold the ball!"

Sena held up the ball, his hands around the bottom point, "Like this, the normal way right?"

Hiruma grabbed the football and slammed it on his head, "Dumbass! No wonder the ball was knocked out so easily! What you're supposed to do is hold it between your fingers and tuck it under your armpit."

Sena nodded and they rejoined the huddle. "Ok, same play, Eyeshield goes to the right."

"But we can't block those guys their too strong!" someone said shakily.

"I don't count on you being able to block them perfectly, I want you to block them for at least 0.5 seconds. That is enough time for Eyeshield to run through."

Deimon got into formation and Sena stood shaking in the back, _These guys are too tough what am I going to do?_

Kurita looked back at Sena, "Don't worry, we'll be your shields!"

_My...shields? _Sena looked around, _Of course, they'll protect me from being hit, and now that I hold the ball the right way, I can do this!_

"Hut! Hut!" Again Sena ran forward and grabbed the ball from Hiruma's hands. He ran around to the right, Ishimaru in front of him. The first Oujou player appeared to stop him, but Sena didn't slow down. _I don't need to slow down, since Ishimaru is shielding me!_

Ishimaru jumped in the way of the defender and Sena dashed past them. He cut back and forth around his blockers and as he noticed that he passed the last defender, he sped up. Sena counted the yards left to the end zone, _Thirty yards...twenty...ten..._

"Touchdown Deimon!" the referee yelled. The stadium was dead silent as they watched the first points go, not to Oujou, but to Deimon.

OoOoO

Up in the stands Naruto sat on the edge of his seat, jaw lying on the ground. He slowly looked over at Sasuke, "Wow, that little guy is good!"

Sasuke smirked, "Don't worry, our own Eyeshield can be that good." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, "If he tried."

Naruto glared at him, "I'm sure our Eyeshield isn't _that_ lazy."

Lee laughed out loud and patted Naruto on the shoulder, "Well, you'll just have to come and watch him with the rest of us!"

Naruto folded his arms and sat back in his seat, _If I'm going to be that good, then I have a lot of work ahead of me._

"Now don't go and start praising Deimon just yet. That was a lucky punch, if Shin was out there that kid wouldn't have gotten the touchdown and that's a fact," Shikamaru stated.

A voice from behind them answered, "That is the truth, it was number 93's fault, the guy playing for Shin."

They turned around and Sasuke stared wide eyed at the two behind them. "A-A-Agon! Unsui! What are you guys doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"We were here to scout out Shin, but it seems that it doesn't matter since he's not playing. Most of the other players are trash anyway," Agon responded nonchalantly. He leaned in forward and looked into Sasuke's eyes, "Do I know you? You seem familiar."

Sasuke turned away, "No, we've never met before."

"Ok...oh and who is this?" Agon said turning to Sakura, "and what is this beautiful flower's name?"

Sakura blushed and looked away, "My name is Sakura."

"Well, hello there Sakura, what do you say we get something to eat after the game?"

Sasuke stood up, turned around, and pointed a finger in Agon's face, "Don't hit on my girlfriend you asshole!"

Agon stood up, almost twice Sasuke's size, and glared at him, "What did you say you piece of trash?"

Unsui decided it was time to intervene, "Agon, sit down. I don't want anyone hurt."

Agon sneered at Unsui, but sat down anyway, "Fine, that piece of trash wasn't worth my time anyway."

"Would you both shut up and watch the game, Eyeshield 21 just tipped one of Oujou's passes," Shikamaru casually interrupted.

All eyes went to the field as Hiruma caught the tipped ball and started running the other way. Just before he got tackled, he tossed it back to none other than number 21. He sped up the field, but about 13 yards from the end zone, he was shoved out of bounds. Naruto threw his hands up in the air, "Ahhhhh, so close!"

A loud cheer followed and Neji pointed to the Oujou bench. Shin Seijuro was putting on his helmet and walking onto the field. Shikamaru leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, "This game is over."

Naruto leaned forward and waited for Deimon's first play. It was a run to the center and Eyeshield was cut off by Shin. "A battle of the stars," Agon said from behind. Sena cut to the right and Naruto jumped out of his seat, "He got past him!"

"Nope, he's caught," Agon said smiling, "Here is the spear tackle!"

"Spear tackle?" Naruto asked. He didn't need an answer as he saw Shin's arm lash out like a spear and grab the Deimon player, dragging him to the ground. The following play, instead of tackling him, Shin grabbed him and lifted him up. One of the other Oujou players, an Ootawara, stripped the ball and handed it back to Shin. He easily scored a touchdown, running as fast as Eyeshield had.

"That kid there is right, that's the end of the game." It was Unsui.

By the half, the score was 35-6, Oujou. Sasuke stood up and stretched, "Well I'm going home. This game isn't worth watching anymore, anyone else coming?"

Shikamaru stood up, "Yea I'm leaving too. How 'bout you Chouji?" He nodded and followed Shikamaru out of the stands. The only ones left by the start of the second half were Naruto and Hinata.

"How come you stayed Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"I-I'm the manager, s-so I'm w-watching the other t-teams," she replied.

"Hey sorry about making you stay on the team."

"N-no, it's a-alright."

"You know you can quit if you want to."

"R-really, I don't w-want to," she insisted.

"Well, if you're sure." Naruto sat silent for a moment, "How about I take you out some time, since our last date wasn't really a date?" Hinata blushed a deep scarlet and looked at the ground. "If you don't want to that's ok too."

Hinata's head snapped up, "No! N-no, I w-would love to g-go with y-you."

Naruto grinned from ear to ear, "That's great! How about tomorrow after my practice?"

Hinata nodded her head and smiled. After a while, before the second half started, she asked, "W-why are y-you staying?"

"I want to watch Eyeshield; I need to see if he can beat Shin."

Agon suddenly jumped over the seat and sat next to Naruto, "Yea right, compared the Shin, that guy is a piece of shit."

"Hey! He could do it; he just has to believe he can!"

Throughout the second half, Deimon continued to run Eyeshield 21 against Shin, but every time, he was stopped by the spear tackle. Also, there was a loud ruckus made by the Sakuraba fan base as Eyeshield accidentally tackled him and broke his collar bone. Apart from being almost torn apart by crazed and angry fan girls, the second half went along normally.

Soon there was only a few seconds left in the game and Deimon lined up for their last play of the game. Agon laughed, "Told you, this is the last play of the game, and if he couldn't get past Shin before he won't now."

"You're wrong, I can feel it, he's gonna score," Naruto stated.

"How about a little bet then?" Agon suggested.

"You're on," Naruto replied immediately.

"If I win, I get to take your little friend here on a date, and if you win I have to..."

"You have to leave my teammates and friends alone, especially the girls."

"Deal!"

The impact of what Naruto had just done hit him at that moment and he turned to look at a terrified Hinata. "Oh shit, I'm sorry Hinata, I didn't even think about...I'm so sorry!"

She looked down at the ground and Naruto turned away in disgust at himself, _Damn, I was on good terms with her too..._

OoOoO

Sena was hunched over, hands on his knees, panting. _This is the last play of the game, if I'm going to beat Shin it has to be now. I WILL do it, this is the play._

Hiruma walked up to Sena and smiled devilishly, "You feel it don't you? The want to win, to crush your opponent. This is the play, you know it and I know it, now let the rest of them know it." Sena nodded and got into position,_ Hiruma is right, I know I can do this._

Sena took a deep breath and the cheer of the crowd died around him. All he concentrated on was running and Shin. Hiruma hiked the ball and Sena grabbed the ball and ran toward Kurita in the center. At that moment, Kurita pushed through, knocking back Oujou's line and leaving a huge gap. Sena dashed through the hole and up the field, Shin behind him. He was closing in on Sena but Sena forced himself to go faster, _Faster, faster FASTER! I need to go faster!_

Shin reached for Sena, but as he brought his hand forward he grabbed empty air. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Sena dash the remaining 40 yards in 4.2 seconds. _That speed! That's the realm of light speed!_ raced through Shin's mind, _Against this kind of speed, no strength can stop it!_

Sena stumbled into the end zone as his legs went numb. He collapsed on the ground as the Deimon players gathered around him. Kurita picked him up and carried him off the field. As they were walking off the field Hiruma smiled, "Even though it was only one time, only one time out of the many battles you had against Shin, you won this time." Sena smiled and watched from the sideline as the game finally ended, the final score Oujou-68 and Deimon-12.

OoOoO

Agon was staring opened mouthed at Sena, "What the hell just happened?!"

"What just happened is that I just won our bet, so get lost!" Naruto said, slapping Agon on the back. He stood up and grumbled, but walked away Unsui following behind him. Hesitantly, Naruto turned around to Hinata, "Sooooo, Hinata..."

She smiled at him, "I'm, g-glad you w-won."

Naruto gave a half smile and scratched the back of his head, "Yea, well, sorry for betting you, I just wasn't thinking."

Hinata kept herself from rolling her eyes, _You always do that Naruto-kun, but if you were any different, I don't think I would like you as much. _"Y-you only d-did it to p-protect us f-from him."

Naruto grinned, "I knew you wouldn't hold a grudge, now let's go!"

OoOoO

Later that night, Naruto and Sasuke walked into Ichiraku's and sat down. The ordered two bowls of miso ramen and proceeded to wait for their guest to arrive. About five minutes later, Sena walked into the restaurant and sat down across from the two. "So what are we here for?" Sena asked.

"I'll tell you what we're here for." Sena slowly turned around and then jumped up in fear. From the darkness a set of pointed teeth formed into a smile.

"H-H-Hiruma! What are you doing here?" Sena asked shakily.

"Kekekeke. I followed you here because I can't let anything happen to our star player."

Sasuke looked back and forth between the two, "Look, we aren't here to hurt the kid, we just saw him while he was changing into Eyeshield 21."

"I know, I have cameras everywhere," Hiruma retorted.

Naruto leaned back in his chair, "So now what?"

Hiruma smiled, "Well first we introduce ourselves and what we do for the team."

Sasuke smirked, "Always wanting information on others, never giving any on yourself. Fine, my name is Uchiha Sasuke, quarterback for the Konoha ninjas."

Hiruma looked over at Naruto expectantly. He gulped and said, "Uhhh...I'm Uzumaki Naruto, assistant manager."

Hiruma frowned at him, "Don't lie to me."

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke. He nodded and Naruto looked back at Hiruma, "I'm the Eyeshield 21 for our team."

Hiruma slammed his hand down on the table and laughed, "There! Now we know each other's aces of the team. I take it you're using the Notre Dame cover story?" Sasuke nodded. "Just what I thought. Well Sena, it seems that you have a rival for the title of Eyeshield 21."

Sena quickly shook his head, "No way! He can have it!"

Hiruma pulled out a gun and pointed it at him, "What was that fucking shorty?"

Sena melted onto the floor, "Nothing, he is my rival!"

"Good, now let's get going."

"Wait, I was actually hoping you guys would stick around a little while longer," Sasuke suggested.

Hiruma seemed to think for a moment and then shook his head, "Sorry, but no, we have to go."

As they walked out Naruto looked down at his empty bowl, "Was it really ok to tell them I was Eyeshield 21?"

"It was the only fair thing to do. We know their secret, so now they know ours."

OoOoO

The following day at practice, Sasuke called everyone to huddle up. "Ok guys, I got some good news and some bad news. Which one first?"

"How about the good news," Chouji suggested.

"Alright," Sasuke said, "the good news is that we have a scrimmage in a few days."

"So what, my youthful friend, is the bad news?" you-know-who asked.

"Well, it's against..."

* * *

**Note!:** Find out next chap who they play. sorry if this wasn't good, but I seem to have a hard time with chapter 2's, after that I'm pretty much ok, and the rest of the chapters turn out pretty good.

also if you read my other stories, KOTOR will be the next update hopefully, unless inspiration hits for one of my other stories... hope you enjoyed, r&r


	3. Chapter 3 First Scrimmage

So chapter 3 of Naruto21 is finally finished, but I have some bad news...this could be the last one for a while and I know it will kill you guys since there's somewhat of a...cliffhanger at the end...hehe sorry. I guess you could say inspiration has struck me for my other two stories and I want to focus on those right now. Don't worry, though, I won't abandon this story.

I also have a favor to ask of you guys. I was wondering if anyone was interested in being my beta for any of my stories, anybody at all. I tried to find one using the beta finder, but I have had no luck... I'm preferably looking for someone to beta my other two stories. If you're interested, pm me please.

For those of you who don't know, I update my profile regularly, giving out info regarding my progress on chapters, so if you want to keep tabs on what I'm doing, go to my profile. Anyway, on to buisness...Here's the next chapter of N21, enjoy and **R&R** please

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**Chapter 3 First Scrimmage**

The team had taken a knee at the center of the field. They had just finished practice and Sasuke was talking to them. Sakura and Hinata sat off on the sidelines, watching the team. "So Hinata, do you think they can win with all these people that have never played before?" Sakura asked.

Hinata shrugged, "It's possible, and I think they can. They just have to believe that they can do it."

"Don't give me that movie crap, that if they believe they can win; I mean realistically, do you think they can win?"

Hinata sat there quietly. She nodded, "Yea I think they can."

Sakura smiled, "Are you saying that because Naruto's on the team?"

Hinata blushed a deep red and shifted uncomfortably, "N-no, that's not true."

"You stuttered, it has to be true," Sakura pointed out.

_Damn my stuttering! _Hinata thought.

"How come you don't ask him out?" Sakura asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.

"W-well...I-I mean...I don't know..." she admitted.

"How about I help you out?" Sakura asked.

Hinata looked doubtful, "How are you going to help me?"

"I'll set up a double date, that sound good?"

"I guess," Hinata said, nodding.

"Ok, we'll go after their scrimmage game."

Hinata seemed surprised, "Scrimmage? Against who?"

OoOoO

Sasuke looked around at the people with him, "So I got good and bad news. Which first?"

"Good news," Chouji said.

"I got us a game scheduled for the day after tomorrow."

"Already?" Kiba asked incredulously, "We just had our first practice as a team!"

"Yea, well, that's not the worst part," Sasuke said.

Kankuro groaned, "What's worse than that?"

"It's against Iwo High."

Kiba's jaw fell open. "You mean the school that's been nicknamed 'The Immovable Ones?'"

"Yea, those guys."

"Fuck!" Kankuro yelled, "What the fuck were you thinking Sasuke? We can't play them, they'll kill us!"

Naruto cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "Look guys, we're here to play football and even if we get killed, it's better to play good teams than playing bad ones. We can get better faster that way."

Sasuke nodded his head, "Exactly, plus I think we have a shot at beating those guys."

"I still don't like it," Kankuro said.

"Well deal with it," Neji said.

The next day, they practiced their plays and worked themselves until they could no longer move. As Naruto grabbed his bag and began to limp home, Hinata and Sakura came up behind him. "Hey Eyeshield," Sakura called out.

Naruto turned around and waved. "Yea, what is it?" he asked.

"Hinata has something to ask you," Sakura said, giving Hinata a little push towards Naruto.

He smiled and she nearly fainted, but Sakura held her up. "U-ummm, Eyeshield-kun, I-I was wondering i-if you w-would like to g-go o-out sometime?"

"You mean like a date?" Naruto asked. Hinata opened her mouth but closed it. Instead she nodded her head. "Sounds great!" Naruto exclaimed, "When are we going?"

"Hold on there, bud, there's something you have to do first," Sakura said.

Naruto groaned, "What is it?"

"Win the scrimmage, then you get the date. Understood?"

Naruto hung his head, "You're a cruel woman Sakura."

"I know," she said giggling.

OoOoO

That night, after a quick shower, Naruto walked to Ichiraku's. He ordered a bowl of ramen as he walked in. He sat down and took a deep breath, savoring the smell of the ramen. He finished his meal, thanked and paid the old man, and left the stand. Once back at his apartment, he climbed into bed and put his head on the pillow.

Naruto stared up at the ceiling, his mind wandering, unable to fall asleep. He soon began to think of the scrimmage the next day. He wondered if they would be able to win, if they were ready. Naruto pondered the thought for quite some time, and finally came to the conclusion that yes, Konoha did have a chance. They had practiced, even if it probably wasn't enough, but he thought they could do it.

He rolled over onto his side, hoping to fall asleep, but he was still unable to sleep. His thoughts soon drifted to a different subject, a cuter one anyway. Hyuga Hinata, one of the most beautiful girls in school, even if she was shy; not to mention smart too. Naruto smiled to himself and blushed. _I can't believe she asked me out! _Naruto thought to himself, _I am a lucky man! I am so going to win this game._

Naruto shut his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep. Eventually he began to nod off. The last thought before he finally fell asleep was of Hinata...in a bikini.

OoOoO

Shin Seijurou took a seat at the top of the hill overlooking the field. He knew he shouldn't be there, but instead warming up for the championship game they had in two hours. He wanted to, but he had heard rumors, rumors of a second Eyeshield emerging from within the Konoha school. They say he's bigger than and just as fast as Deimon's Eyeshield.

Shin knew if there was a second person who could reach the time of 4.2 then that made him his rival. If the rumors were true, then Shin was slower than two people now and he could not bring himself to accept it.

He looked around the field and noticed that there were not many fans, though, a few were showing up as the game between Deimon and Zakugaku came to an end. Everyone knew that these two teams were just an opening act to the show that everyone looked forward to. They were waiting for the Oujou versus Shinryuuji spring tournament championship match.

As the fans settled down and got comfortable, Sasuke walked onto the field, his team setting their stuff down at the sidelines. He looked over at the monsters that were Iwo's football team.

They were huge, and most looked like they were chiseled from rock. They were a good team, not as good as Oujou or Shinryuuji, of course, but good none the less. Sasuke watched them put their pads on and began to doubt. Up until that point Sasuke believed that they had a small chance of winning the game, but now, as he watched these boulders walk onto the field to warm-up, he saw that small chance disappear.

From the sidelines, Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke through his eyeshield. His head was panning across the opponents sideline and Naruto noticed his shoulders slump a bit. He rolled his eyes, _The game hasn't even begun and he's already ready to give up._

Naruto jogged over and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Dude, you're already giving up?"

"Look at them, they're huge!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"So? That won't stop us. Come on, you're the leader of this team, if you give up the rest of the team will. Of course, _I_ won't, though, since I actually think we can win this game," Naruto said.

Sasuke chuckled, "Fine, I won't give up either."

Naruto grinned from underneath his helmet, "Then let's get this show on the road!"

Sasuke nodded. At that time, the referee called the captains of both teams over. Sasuke walked over and stared up at the hulk standing before him. A drop of sweat rolled down the side of his face, and the other player smiled. "My name is Daichi the ace running back for my team, nice to meet you little man," he said laughing.

Sasuke moved his mouth, but nothing came out. Naruto noticed and stepped in, "And I'm Eyeshield 21, the ace running back for our team, and I guarantee a win."

Daichi laughed louder, "You believe that you can beat me? You are delusional my friend."

The referee cleared his throat, getting the players attention, "Iwo, choose a side."

"Heads," replied Daichi.

The ref flipped the coin and it came up as tails. "Konoha, offense or defense?" the ref asked.

Naruto smiled, "Offense of course."

"Okay, get ready for the kickoff."

The captains shook hands and went to their respective sides of the field. Sasuke snapped out of his trance and called everyone over to the huddle. "Ok, look guys, we get the first offensive drive and I want you all to give it your all. Every one of us has to play the entire game, offense and defense, but even if you're tired you can't give up." He put his hand in the middle, "Konoha on three. One, two, three, KONOHA!" They broke from the huddle and set up for the kickoff.

As the whistle blew, Iwo's kicker began running toward the ball. There was a _thump_ as he hit the ball, sending it flying into the air. At the other end of the field Naruto placed himself under the football and waited. A couple seconds later it dropped into his hands. Naruto pushed off with his back foot and sped off up the field.

He counted in his head as he passed the first three people, knowing he needed to beat all eleven to get the touchdown. Kiba jumped in front of him and blocked one of the players and Naruto spun around another. He faked to the left and ran right, toward the sidelines. He cut up the field and ran as fast as he could, reaching the realm of light speed.

Naruto laughed as he walked, untouched into the end zone, but it quickly faded as he saw a yellow flag back at the thirty yard line. "No!" he screamed. He threw up his hands in frustration as the ref called holding on Lee. Naruto angrily walked off the field, grabbing a bottle of water. He gulped it down as Lee walked over and bowed, "I am sorry, my eagerness got the best of me it seems."

Naruto sighed, "That's ok Lee, we'll score on this drive; I mean did you see how easy it was to score?"

Lee laughed, "It is good to see that my blunder has not dampened your youthfulness."

"Not at all," Naruto replied, patting him on the back.

As they walked back onto the field Daichi intercepted Naruto. "I have underestimated your skill. You are fast, probably faster than Shin from Oujou, but be aware; we will not underestimate you again."

Naruto brushed past him, "Yea, whatever. Just don't cry when I score again."

Due to the penalty, they were pushed back to their own twenty yard line to begin the drive. They set up for their first play, obviously a run. Sasuke hiked the ball and handed it off to Naruto. He ran around to the right of the line and sprinted up field. An Iwo player jumped in front of him and Naruto smirked. He lowered his shoulder and plowed into the player, knocking him backwards.

Naruto frowned as he realized he couldn't move forward. He looked down at the defender he had supposedly bulldozed. The kid had planted his back foot farther back, keeping him from falling to the ground, and using his superior strength stood up. He grabbed Naruto by his jersey and threw him backwards. Naruto got up slowly and glared at the kid.

Sasuke ran over, "You ok?"

"Fine but...that kid...did you see that?"

"Yea, that's Hayato. He plays linebacker and is only second to Shin in the position."

"Fuck," Naruto cursed, shaking his head.

"It's all right, it was just one time. We're going to run again, so get past him this time."

Naruto nodded and followed Sasuke back to the line of scrimmage. Once again Sasuke hiked the ball and gave it to Naruto, but this time he went around to the opposite side. Hayato was there again, but Naruto wasn't going to try to run him over again. Instead he cut to the left and then back to the right causing Hayato to lose his footing. Naruto laughed as he ran passed him, only to feel a strong pressure on his shoulder. When he looked for the cause, he saw a hand. Amazed, Naruto looked behind him to see Hayato stretched out and holding onto him. Naruto just stared as he was yanked off his feet and thrown backwards.

Hayato stood over him, "You will not get passed me, Eyeshield, not today."

Naruto scowled, "We'll just see about that." He stood up and stalked over to the rest of the team. "Fucking bastard," he muttered under his breath.

Shikamaru put his hand on his shoulder, "Calm down, we don't need you doing anything stupid. Our ace from Notre Dame can't get ejected from the game for losing his temper."

Naruto nodded and took a deep breath. "You're right, sorry."

"We're going to go with a pass this time and it's going to Shikamaru," Sasuke said.

"Me?" he asked, pointing to himself.

"Yes you, who else is named Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru sighed, "How troublesome."

Sasuke took his place behind Chouji. He gave Chouji a pat on the head, "Hold these guys off, alright?"

He gave a thumb's up, "No problem."

Sasuke grinned, "Hut! Hut! Hut!"

The ball was snapped and Sasuke fell back. He saw Shikamaru raise his hand as he got open. Sasuke threw the ball to him and he reached out and snatched it from the air. Before he could take a step to make the catch official, however, he was close lined by the cornerback. The ball slipped from his hands as he fell face first to the ground.

Naruto rushed over and flipped him over asking, "Are you alright?"

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Well that sucks," Naruto said, shaking his head.

"Tell me about it, these guys hit hard."

"It's like we're playing against rocks!"

Konoha punted the ball and prepared itself to take on Iwo's offense. "Come on guys, we can stop these bastards," Naruto yelled.

Chouji took his place at the line and tensed up, waiting for the other team to hike the ball. He stared up at the player he had to beat to get to the quarterback and frowned. He was huge, a lot bigger than Chouji anyway. Even though he was clearly out-weighed by this monster, Chouji showed no fear. As the ball was snapped he slammed into the guy as hard as he could, tipping him backwards. Chouji pushed him into the ground and reached his arm out, grabbing the quarterback by his wrist. He yanked down, hard, pulling the quarterback down.

Naruto threw a fist into the air, "Yea Chouji, that's the way to do it!"

Iwo's quarterback got up off the ground and dusted himself off. He smirked and walked back to his team. Sasuke was the only one to see the smirk and cautioned his team to be prepared.

This time Iwo ran the ball with Daishi and he thundered through the line, running over everybody. Naruto ran forward and slammed into his chest, but he did not even faze Daichi as he pushed Naruto off and ran all the way for the touchdown. Naruto watched, anger flowing through his veins.

Daichi walked back and helped Naruto to his feet, "You see, don't you? We are like a boulder, it cannot be broken. You cannot stop us and you cannot get past us, thus you cannot defeat us."

Naruto shook his head, "Any boulder can be broken; you just need the right tools."

The rest of the quarter had more of the same. Konoha could not move the ball and Iwo scored two more touchdowns. As they moved into the second quarter, Konoha was losing their spirit, as if it was getting smashed by a huge rock.

Naruto spent most of the time cursing and scowling, but did not let the others see it. He knew he couldn't let them see him so worked up. But most importantly he knew he had to do something, he was the supposed ace from Notre Dame; what use was he if he couldn't get past these big, stupid, goliaths?

Using this anger and determination, Naruto was able to move the ball little by little, winding down the time in the second quarter. He was eventually stopped and they had to give Iwo back the ball. Daichi ended up scoring yet another touchdown, putting Iwo up 28-0.

As the first half drew to a close, the Konoha team walked off the field tired and demoralized. They sat at the benches and stared at the ground, but Naruto would have none of it. "What the hell are you guys doing? You can't give up!"

"Too late, we already did," Kankuro said sadly.

"Come on! We can still come back, it's been done before!"

"There's just no way, even if we scored we can't stop Daichi," Kiba stated flatly.

Sasuke removed his helmet and sat it next to him, "He's right, we can't win."

"Kekekekeke, I haven't heard you say those words since losing to your brother," a rather demonic voice said. The team turned to see Hiruma, in full pads, sweating from his game against Zakugaku. "I came here to see an interesting game, but it seems you guys are just getting your asses kicked."

"Shut up, Hiruma, we can still win this," Naruto said.

"Not if your team gives up on you," Hiruma said, laughing. "What happened to this school? It was once the best football school in the country. Some of the best players ever came from here."

Naruto looked at him curiously, "Like who?"

"Well there was Hatake Kakashi, the best wide receiver in the history of football. Then there was the greatest trio to ever play football. The legendary Jiraiya, the best running back ever; Tsunade, even if she was a girl she was probably the hardest hitting person on the field at all times; and then there was Orochimaru, a great tight end who maneuvered and flowed like a snake around people." He stopped and looked at Sasuke, "Then there was your brother Itachi. He was the quarterback and a fucking good one too." Sasuke scowled and Hiruma laughed, "So are you going to let yourself fall into Itachi's shadow Sasuke, or are you going to make your own?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and held his hands together as if praying. They snapped open and he smiled, "We can still win this game."

Naruto whooped, "That's more like it!"

"I have a plan..."

Sasuke called in his team and whispered his plan to them. Off to the side stood Hiruma, laughing his ass off.

As the third quarter was beginning, Konoha kicked off and Iwo began their first attack. "Remember," Sasuke whispered in their huddle, "don't go for the tackle, go for the turnover. No matter what, get the ball, keep them from scoring."

Iwo set up with three receivers and made it painfully obvious to Konoha that they were throwing the ball. _Now they're just mocking us,_ Naruto angrily thought.

With a determined look, Naruto watched his assigned receiver jump off the line and run straight up the field. Naruto hung back just enough to make it seem that he was open and as Iwo's quarterback threw the ball long to him, Naruto ran faster. He easily caught the other player and as the ball came down he jumped up and stretched his arms out. His fingertips hit the ball, knocking it out in front of him. He grabbed it from the air and landed on the ground.

Sasuke watched as Naruto jumped and intercepted the ball. He immediately ran forward and blocked the nearest guy allowing Naruto to slip around him. He made it to the fifty yard line before he was tackled by Daichi.

They huddled up and Sasuke looked around at all of them, "Ok, here's where it counts. We have to score this drive, no matter what. So far we have not been able to get past these guys, though; Naruto had some luck earlier in the game. Since we haven't been able to get past them using straightforward play, we're going more complex. Our first play is a fake run."

Neji lined up on the right of Sasuke. He watched him closely, waiting for him to hike the ball. Neji knew his route, a fake to the middle of the field and then cut back to the sidelines. Time seemed to slow down to Neji as Chouji snapped the ball to Sasuke. He dropped back and handed it off to Naruto. Iwo's players fell for the trap and ran forward, tackling Naruto, leaving Neji wide open. By the time Iwo began to realize what had happened, it was too late and Sasuke had already thrown the ball. Neji caught it around the twenty yard line and dove into the end zone.

Lee was the first to be there, picking him up and congratulating him on his 'youthful' catch. Their small celebration quickly ended as Sasuke told them that they were still down three touchdowns.

"Hey Naruto, think you can get an onside kick?" Sasuke asked.

"A what?"

"On the kickoff, when the ball is kicked, it will only go a short distance, if it goes more than ten yards, pick it up. Got that?"

Naruto smiled, "Not a problem."

On the opposite side of the field Daichi watched Konoha set up for the kickoff. He was glaring at them, angry that they had scored. He had wanted a shut-out, an overwhelming victory; to crush them entirely. Not that he believed that they could win; he just wanted them to understand that they were an amateur team and deserved to be crushed. The referee blew his whistle, Konoha's quarterback running toward the ball. Daichi prepared himself for the return, but instead stared in disbelief at what Konoha had done. They had performed an onside kick, not only that but it was successful as well! Daichi screamed angrily and walked off the field.

Back on Konoha's side, they were once more huddled up preparing to attack. "Listen up," Sasuke said, "I think that Iwo will expect a pass here. They think that just because we were successful one time in the air, we're going to pass again. So we'll go with a draw play, the fake pass run!"

Naruto couldn't help but smirk while he watched the defense seem to fall back, getting rid of any option to go long, but that was the thing; they weren't going long. Sasuke hiked the ball and fell back for the pass. He pump faked and then gave it to Naruto.

Because of the pump fake, the defense had dropped back allowing for Konoha's offensive line to open a hole in the line. He immediately spotted it and ran through it, running up the field. He had run almost twenty yards before being brought down by Hayato.

Naruto slammed his fist into the ground. "Why can't I get past this guy?" he asked himself. "I need...something...something that will throw him off." Naruto thought back, trying to remember anything he could use against him. He realized that at the beginning of the game, Naruto had made Hayato trip as he juked side to side. _If one fake step made him fall, what would two or three do? _he thought.

Hayato watched Eyeshield get up, dust himself off, and head back to their huddle. He smirked and called out to Konoha, "I personally guarantee that no one else will get by me and score."

Eyeshield scowled at him, and Hayato laughed quietly; he had taken the bait. As Konoha began their play, Hayato knew right away that they would run Eyeshield right at him, just to prove him wrong.

He watched carefully as Naruto ran toward him. Naruto faked to the right and cut back to the left, Hayato went to the left and tried to cut him off, but he had already begun to cut back the other way. Hayato cursed and stretched out his hand to grab him, but what happened surprised him. As he reached out, Naruto kept juking from side to side, and for a split second there were two Eyeshields, it was like he had created a clone of himself.

During that small period of time, Hayato had to make a decision: which Eyeshield was it? He picked and grasped thin air. He stared in horror as Naruto kept running; past the thirty, the twenty, the ten, and in for the score.

Naruto spiked the ball and walked over to Konoha's bench. Grabbing a bottle of water he sat down to catch his breath. Hinata walked over and offered a towel. "Y-you're doing a r-really good job E-Eyeshield-kun," she stuttered.

"Thanks, Hinata. We'll win this game, and then we can go out on that date, ok?" She blushed and nodded her head, smiling.

Naruto looked out at the field and saw Sasuke waving him over. He nodded his thanks to Hinata and jogged over to him. "Ok, we can't do another onside kick, they'll be expecting that. What do you think we should do?"

"I say we give them the ball and I'll race down there and try to stop them before they can get anywhere," Naruto suggested.

"And on defense? I don't think the quarterback will make the same mistake twice, do you?"

"No, but I have a feeling I've made him nervous, he's not gonna pass it near me again. I think they're going to try to wind down the clock by running anyway."

Sasuke sighed, "Then we have to find a way to stop Daichi."

"I've got an idea..." Naruto said laughing.

Sasuke smiled, listening to Naruto whisper his plan in his ear.

Konoha lined up, ready for the kickoff. The ball was kicked into the air and Naruto raced down the field. He was down at the other end just as the ball fell into the hands of the Iwo player and he slammed into him. Iwo was going to begin their drive on the two yard line.

The third quarter came to an end and so Iwo began their attack in the fourth. Iwo pounded on Konoha's defense with Daichi, no longer passing the ball. Every couple yards, Daichi would purposefully go down, in order to waste as much time as he could. Eventually, Iwo was on the twenty yard line, on the verge of scoring again and taking away any chance for Konoha to come back.

This was when Naruto put his plan into action. He told everyone to blitz, and to make it obvious that that is what they were going to do. For the first two plays, Daichi was stopped due to the sheer numbers that grabbed onto him. On third down they tried to pass, but it was knocked down by Lee. So, in the end, Iwo settled for the field goal.

Naruto smiled to himself, just as he had thought; now he just had to block the damn thing. He went over his two options; first he could go around to the side and try and get in front of it in time or he could jump over the pile and hope he got a hand up far enough to block it. He thought about it and decided to go with the first option. He figured he was fast enough to get around in time.

He set up to the right of the offensive line, standing on his toes. He dug in with his feet and sprang forward at the exact same time the ball was snapped. He ran around the pile and ended up in front of the kicker just as he swung his leg. Naruto ended up taking the full force from the kick as the ball hit him squarely in the chest. Before it bounced off of him, though, he wrapped his arms around it and began running the other way. He was tripped up almost immediately by the kicker.

Konoha had the ball, again. Naruto walked to the huddle and was met with cheers and high-fives. "Good job Naruto, you performed your part perfectly," Sasuke congratulated him.

"Well what can I say, I'm just too much for them to handle," Naruto said, puffing his chest out and flexing his muscles.

"Right, but we're still behind two touchdowns and there's only five minutes left in the game," Kiba worriedly pointed out.

"Come my friends, let the power of youth guide us to..." Lee began.

"Shut up, we don't want to hear it," Neji angrily interrupted.

"Well I am sorry that the power of youth does not flow through you Neji," Lee shot back.

"Both of you shut up!" Kankuro yelled, "We need to figure out how we're going to get past this defense and score...twice!"

"Run it," Naruto suggested.

"But the clock will run down," Kiba pointed out.

Naruto shrugged, "So? I say we run it, it's our best and our safest option."

Sasuke nodded, "He's right." The team looked at him as if he had gone insane. "We need the touchdown, and Eyeshield will give us our best chance at it."

Starting at the twenty-five, Konoha began their five minute comeback with a run. Naruto gained ten yards on the play and from then on, they marched down the field, ten yards at a time. Konoha stalled, however, at the five. It was third and goal and Konoha desperately needed to score. With the clock winding down to the two and a half minute mark, Sasuke took their first timeout.

Naruto took this time to talk to Kankuro and Chouji. They were sitting on the bench, catching their breath, when he walked up to them. He sat on the ground in front of them. "Look guys, I'm running the next play and I'm coming through your part of the line," he told them.

Kankuro looked nervous, but Chouji gave him a thumb's up, "No problem, we'll push Iwo all the way back into their own end zone."

Naruto smiled underneath his helmet, "Good, I want you guys to send them flying."

"You can count on us," Chouji replied.

Naruto got into his stance, counting the number of times Sasuke said 'hut'. After a total of seven times, Sasuke hiked the ball and handed it to Naruto. He ran straight at Chouji's back and slammed into it, pushing forward. Chouji pushed as hard as he could, but his man wasn't moving. Kankuro was looked over at the struggling Chouji. He cursed and pushed harder. Kankuro's man slid back a few inches. He smiled and pushed harder.

Naruto noticed Kankuro moving his man off to the side. There it was, a hole in the line between Chouji and Kankuro. It wasn't very large, but Naruto took it and charged through. He was in the end zone before anyone was able to stop him. Naruto handed the ball to the referee and walked toward the sideline.

OoOoO

Shin Seijurou sat, watching Konoha and their Eyeshield slowly make a comeback against Iwo. He looked up as Hiruma walked over and sat next to him. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the game?" he asked. Shin ignored him. "Ah, I guess you cam to see if the rumors were true, about the second Eyeshield 21."

Shin nodded, "They seem to be true. That running back, he's like yours, he won't give up. He just keeps getting faster and faster, stronger, and more determined."

"They're both thickheaded, and neither knows when to quit, but that is probably their greatest strength."

"You know, Hiruma, Konoha are just as tricky as you sometimes," Shin said.

"Kekekeke, you have no idea how tricky I can be! This? This is nothing."

There was a moment of silence as Konoha kicked it off, Eyeshield racing off toward the other end of the field. The ball fell just short off the Iwo player, who had misread the landing spot of the ball, it bouncing over his head. As he turned around to try and grab the ball, Eyeshield was already there to zoom past him and pick up the football at Iwo's twenty yard line. He ran into the end zone and jumped in the air.

Shin shook his head, "That will not be a touchdown, nobody on the other team touched it, so it will be like a long onside kick."

Hiruma laughed, "And? They got the ball back and are on the verge of scoring again. It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, the Iwo defense is backed up to their own end zone, and nothing is more fearsome than a cornered animal."

"You also forget that that attacking animal is currently starving and hungers for the win, more so than the cornered animal does."

"We shall see..."

OoOoO

Naruto jumped up and down celebrating, even though he knew it wasn't a touchdown. He was celebrating because they were beginning to scare Iwo. No one on that team should have made the mistake of misreading the kick, but they had and now Konoha had the ball once again.

The team huddled up and Sasuke looked around, "We can beat these guys, we're close. Once we score, we'll have a chance to win this thing. There are only two minutes left in the game, we have to score."

Naruto put his hand in the middle, "Let's win this game." Everyone put their hands in the middle with Naruto's and they let out a big cheer.

Once the referee signaled them, Konoha set up to begin their offense. Sasuke hiked the ball and fell back. He scanned the field and then threw it to Shikamaru near the sideline. He caught it and fell out of bounds at the fifteen yard line. Their next play was a run by Lee, who pushed forward for the first down. At the end of that play, there was the two minute warning.

After the small break, they continued from the nine yard line, almost the eight; first and goal. As Konoha set up for their next play, they noticed something different about the Iwo team. They could almost sense a determination to do whatever it took to stop them and there was anger there, it told Konoha that Iwo had been humiliated and they wanted revenge.

Half the team gulped in fear, but the other half had a determined look of their own, a look that said they would win and prove everybody wrong.

Chouji snapped the ball to Sasuke and he handed it to Naruto. He rushed forward, planning to go right up the middle. He hit the pile and pushed forward, but he was brought down after gaining only a yard. On their second play they ran with Naruto again, except this time he went to the left, but again he was brought down after a small gain. Frustrated, he asked to run it one more time, but Sasuke said no. Instead they were going to pass it on third down.

The play began and Sasuke fell back into the pocket. He looked for Neji who had run toward the far corner of the end zone. Sasuke lobbed it over the defense toward Neji, but as it came down, an Iwo player jumped up and swatted it away.

It was now fourth down, Konoha's last chance. They needed a touchdown, and they would go for one.

The next few seconds were a blur for Sasuke, as he called the next play. He had called for a pass, and now he stood behind Chouji, pointing things out to his offensive line, telling them to watch out for certain players. The ball was snapped, Sasuke falling back. He looked to Shikamaru first, but he was covered. Then he looked to Neji, who was double-teamed. Finally, Sasuke looked for Naruto, but he was covered by Hayato and he didn't want to risk Naruto not getting past him. He began to panic, the defense slowly closing in around him.

Then he saw it, a small opening in the line. Even as he thanked God, he rushed through the hole toward the end zone. He was three yards out when he saw the defensive man coming to tackle him. He dove forward, hoping and praying he was going to make it. Sasuke was hit at the one and he saw that he wasn't going to make it, so he stretched his arm out. He hit the ground and looked up, the ball just over the line. He sighed in relief and smiled as the ref ran over and raised his hands, signaling a touchdown.

Sasuke pushed the guy who was laying on him off and got up. He was grabbed by Naruto and Lee and hoisted into the air. When they finally set him back on the ground; they practically dog piled him. He was laughing as he pushed them off.

"Thanks guys, but the games not over," he told them. They quieted down and Sasuke continued, "We can do two things, go for the tie or the win...which one?"

"The win," Naruto replied, "Go for the win, we've earned it."

"That means we have to get the two-point conversion," Kiba stated.

Sasuke nodded, "Yea, but I think we can do it, don't you?"

Kiba laughed, "I never said we couldn't."

"It's settled, we go for the win," Sasuke said. He didn't need to tell them what the play was; they already knew...Eyeshield was running it.

Konoha was determined to get the two points, and so they had total confidence in Eyeshield. Iwo was surprised, confused, and then angry at Konoha's decision to win the game. Iwo was about to be humiliated, and they didn't like it, especially Daichi. He grabbed his helmet off the bench and trotted onto the field. He grabbed one of his teammates and pushed him towards the sideline.

Naruto looked at Daichi and nodded and he nodded back; the only way Naruto was winning this game was going through Daichi. He pushed the fear down into the subconscious of his mind, trying the think of something else. He looked around at his teammates who were all smiling. He then looked toward the sidelines, Sakura and Hinata standing there. Sakura was waving her pom-poms in the air, the other cheerleaders following her example. Hinata smiled nervously and gave Naruto a small wave. Naruto smiled and looked back forward, telling himself that he was going to win the game.

The ball was hiked and put into Naruto's waiting arms...


	4. Chapter 4 American Tournament

I know its been a while since I updated this one, but its football season and its given me a drive to write football. I'm surprised, but this is my most looked at story, very strange to me.

So here is the next chapter, a few new characters, but this chapter doesn't have as much football action, just story progression. Just so everyone knows, I'm not using any real high schools or football teams except for one, the Longhorns. Thanks for reading and please R&R.

* * *

**American Tournament**

Konoha versus Iwa, it was the last play of the game. After fighting to come back from such a large point deficit, Konoha was only down by one point, but instead of going for one point and the tie, they are choosing to go for two points and the win.

The ball was hiked and placed into Naruto's waiting arms. He ran around to the right side of the pile, aiming for the endzone.

Naruto rushed forward, trying to get in for the win. Daichi came around and slammed into Naruto, pushing him backwards. Naruto reeled from the hit, but regained his balance and tried to push Daichi into the end zone. Daichi didn't move an inch. Naruto began to panic as he realized he couldn't get past him and knew he couldn't win.

Daichi grabbed Naruto and threw him to the ground, only inches from the end zone. Naruto cursed and slammed his fist on the ground, the game over. Naruto just laid there, on his back staring up at the sky. "Damn it," he said. "DAMN IT!"

Then a face came into view, it was Daichi. "What are you complaining about? You played one of the best games of football I've ever seen. You may have lost, but you shouldn't be disappointed in how you played," he complimented. "Besides, if you play like you did in the second half, you'll never lose another game."

Daichi extended his hand to Naruto, and he gladly accepted it. Once pulled to his feet, Daichi patted Naruto on the shoulder and then they went to their respective sidelines. At Konoha's sideline, when Naruto showed up, he was met with sad faces.

He called his team to gather around. "Guys, I'm sorry. I wasn't able to win the game, but we can't let that get to us. We are a talented team, a good team, and most of all we're friends and friends believe in each other. As long as we believe and continue to believe in each other, we will not lose again."

Sasuke stepped forward smiling, "He's absolutely right. We can do it, we just have to work harder, practice our asses off, and most of all we can't let ourselves be put down from losing one game."

"Yea, let the powers of youth lead us to victory!" Lee shouted, putting his hand in the center of the group.

Everyone laughed but held out their hands too. "Powers of youth!" they shouted.

Once they made their way back to the locker room, Sasuke pulled Naruto aside. "Hey, look, I need to go somewhere, make sure everyone is okay and then you can leave."

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke only smiled, before turning around and walking away. Naruto shrugged and sat down next to his locker. He leaned against the wall, watching as the others messed around, joking with each other. Kiba was the first to leave, as he said he was going home to study for tests he had coming up.

Shikamaru was already changed and reading a book on his way out, followed by Neji and Lee who were heading for the dojo. Chouji was stuffing his face with a bag of chips as he left, talking through a mouthful of them to Kankuro.

Iwasaki and Joshuyo were the last to leave, talking about the latest mangas that had come out as they exited the building.

Naruto waited a few more minutes and then finally changed out of his uniform and pads. He hung up the pads in the locker and then grabbed his street clothes and left the locker room.

He stuck his head out the door and looked around, making sure no one was watching. Seeing as the ghost was clear, he opened the door all the way and stepped into the sun.

"Naruto!" he heard a familiar voice call out. He turned and saw Sakura and Hinata standing at the entrance to the football field, waving at him.

Naruto, carrying his duffel bag, jogged up to them, "Hey what's up?"

"You didn't win the game," Sakura said, arms folded and her foot tapping the ground.

"I did the best I could, what else do you want from me?" he asked.

"I know you did your best, but Hinata was really looking forward to that date you promised if you won."

Naruto glanced at Hinata who was blushing a deep red. "Sakura-chan, you were the one who made me promise that. I would have taken Hinata on a date whether I had lost or not," he told them, winking at Hinata.

"I was hoping you'd say that; we can make it a double date. Tomorrow at seven, we'll meet at my house and go to a restaurant."

"Geez Sakura-chan, you're so bossy."

Sakura punched Naruto, "Shut up." After Naruto stopped complaining about being hit, Sakura said bye and went off to find Sasuke, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.

Naruto smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head, "So, uh, what now?"

"Y-you could w-walk me to my h-house," Hinata suggested.

"Sure," he said enthusiastically.

Hinata set off in the direction of her house, Naruto following close behind her.

Meanwhile, at a nearby restaurant, Sasuke sat waiting for a friend to arrive. He turned when he heard the jingle of the door opening and saw a very evil looking blond with sharp teeth enter. "Kekekeke. What is it that I can do for you today, fucking emo?" Hiruma asked.

"I'm not emo and I need a favor, a rather large one," he replied.

Hiruma smiled that all knowing smile, "I wonder what it could be. Why don't you tell me?"

"America's holding a tournament, and I want in. It seems that the Nasa Aliens keep winning every year so they're sending them over here and letting a Japanese team take their spot."

"And you want it." Hiruma scratched his chin, thinking, "And what if I want to go?"

"You can play the Nasa Aliens who are a better team, the better deal I think," Sasuke pointed out.

The devilbat quarterback nodded, "You give us the better option for the favor of getting you the lesser one. I like it."

"So is that a yes?" Sasuke asked.

Hiruma laughed, "Of course, but remember, you will still owe me something."

"As long as it's legal, I'll do it."

"Then you got yourself a deal." They shook hands and Hiruma got up and left Sasuke sitting there.

OoOoO

It was the next day, around six thirty, and Naruto was freaking out. He was in front of Sakura's house; Sasuke was with him, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Sasuke was in black dress pants with a white long-sleeve shirt and a black tie; while Naruto had khaki pants and an orange polo on.

"How do I look? Too dressed up? Not dressed up enough? Come on, I need to know if this is fine!" Naruto yelled in Sasuke's ear, who had been trying to tune him out for the last five minutes.

"You're fine. Why are you so worried?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto blushed, "This is my first date, and I want it to go alright."

"It'll be fine," Sasuke assured Naruto.

A few minutes later, Hinata and Sakura walked out of the front door. When they stepped out onto the porch, Naruto and Sasuke both had to pick their jaws up off the ground.

Hinata was wearing a beautiful violet dress that cut low in the back and had spaghetti straps. Sakura was wearing a red dress, one that was a dark shade that didn't stand out too much . It was not as low in the back, but this one was strapless.

"Holy...," Naruto began, but caught himself. "I mean, Hinata, you're-you're beautiful!"

Hinata blushed a deep red, almost matching Sakura's dress, and smiled, "T-thank you, N-Naruto-kun."

Sakura looked expectantly at Sasuke, but he was still too stunned to say anything. Sakura took that as a compliment and herded everyone toward the nearby taxi. After a few minutes, they pulled up in front of the restaurant.

Once inside, they were taken to their seats where they placed their orders and waited patiently for their food. "So," Sakura said, "Are you two planning on going out after this?"

Naruto and Hinata both blushed a deep red and Sasuke shook his head, "Leave them alone, Sakura-chan. It'll happen in its own time."

Naruto nodded, "Y-yea. I want to get to know Hinata-chan better before we think about goi-... anything else."

Sakura shrugged, "Alright. On a different note, Sasuke, you said you had some good news."

"Good news and better news, actually," he replied. "First, we are entered into a tournament and will be playing in it."

"What's the better news?" Naruto asked.

"It's in America."

Naruto's eyes bulged, "We're going to America?!"

"Yep, to play actual high school American football teams."

"That's amazing Sasuke-kun," Sakura squealed.

"D-do we get t-to come t-too?" Hinata quietly asked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, smiling, "You are the team manager, why wouldn't you? Plus, you're Naruto's girlfriend."

Naruto laughed, "That's great, isn't it Hinata-ch-. Hey wait a minute!"

"You really are slow, aren't you?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto's face was so red and hot that it looked like steam was coming out his ears. "Shut up, Sasuke."

"And you tell _me_ to leave them alone!" Sakura said, laughing.

Hianta laughed, too. She couldn't help it as she looked at Naruto's face get darker and darker. She couldn't help but wonder if that's what she looked like when she blushed. She reached out and touched Naruto's hand, "I-it's ok, N-Naruto-kun. They're j-just having f-fun."

Naruto calmed down a little, the blush leaving his face, but then he realized where Hinata's hand was and grew red again. Hinata quickly pulled back her hand as she noticed the same thing. They all settled back into place and talked, waiting for their food.

Once their dinner arrived, it quieted down and they started talking about school and how they were doing. After they finished, Sasuke and Naruto split the bill and they left the restaurant.

Sasuke was holding Sakura's hand as he said, "I'm gonna take Sakura-chan back home, see you tomorrow."

Naruto waved, "Alright, I'll take Hinata-chan back then, too."

"You two be good now, you hear?" Sasuke said, waving a finger at them.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "You're one to talk."

Sasuke smiled, Sakura slightly red beside him, "I won't try anything, but you I'm not so sure about."

"Just get out of here!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke laughed and called for a taxi. He opened the door for Sakura and then got in. The driver pulled on to the road and sped towards Sakura's house.

"It's just you and me now, Hinata-chan," Naruto said. "Do you live far from here? I could walk you if it's close."

Hinata smiled, a bright, lively smile, "I o-only live a c-couple blocks away, y-you can walk m-me."

Naruto nodded and they set off down the street. "You know Hinata-chan, you're stuttering makes you cute," he complimented. She blushed and thanked him.

They walked on for a few minutes when Naruto had to ask something, "Hinata-chan, why do you like me?"

She seemed stunned by the question and hesitated. "W-well," she began, "you are very c-courageous. You never g-give up and always t-try your hardest at anything. Y-you were just so n-nice and caring even f-for the w-wildlife; I saw the f-flower garden you h-have on top of the s-school, I go there when I'm s-sad and it makes m-me feel better. I-it reminds me of y-you and so I u-usually go there a lot. I've a-admired you for a long t-time, and I think s-somewhere along the w-way I started to l-like you. I know w-we don't know each o-other that well, but m-maybe we could get to k-know one a-another and start as friends."

"That sounds good," he replied.

He stopped walking and Hinata stopped as well, looking at him. "W-what is i-it?"

"Hinata-chan, I want you to know something." Naruto hesitated a moment, "I am an orphan. My parents died when I was little, and I was living with a friend up until a couple years ago. Since I grew up alone, you are the first person to tell me they like me, possibly love me. I...I just wanted you to know that because from now on, you're going to be a very special person to me."

Naruto suddenly reached out and hugged Hinata, pulling her in close, holding her tight. Hinata was startled at first, but relaxed and hugged Naruto back. They stayed like that for a while, until finally they parted and continued towards Hinata's house.

Once they reached the house, Naruto walked her to her door where she stuttered a good night. Naruto said good night back and leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Hinata looked ready to faint as she walked into her house in a dream like state.

Naruto was smiling to himself as he walked back to his apartment.

OoOoO

The next day, Naruto arrived at the practice field, already in uniform, helmet and everything, about five minutes until practice began. When he got there, Sasuke and the others were already waiting on the field.

"We've been waiting Eyeshield," Kiba said.

"I'm on time!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yea, but Sasuke said he had an announcement, but wouldn't tell us what it was until you got here," Neji stated.

"And now that he _is_ here," Sasuke began, "I can tell you." He cleared his throat and, smiling, said, "We're going to America, to play in an American tournament. We will be playing other high school teams and if we win the championship, we get to play a college level team."

Everyone, save Naruto, was surprised at the announcement. "Are you serious?!" Kankuro asked.

"Completely. We leave in a few days; that gives us time to practice and get ready for the tournament."

Naruto stepped forward, "I want to say something before we start practice." Sasuke nodded and stepped out of the circle. "I know that that loss the other day was my fault, and I want to say that I'm going to do better. I don't want to lose anymore, and I plan not to. I will do better, for you all, for this team, for my friends."

Shikamaru laughed, "It wasn't just your fault; we all played a role in the loss. We are all going to work harder, but don't expect too much from me."

Naruto nodded, "I'm glad. I promise that as long as we fight, we will win. They may score ninety-nine points, but as long as we keep fighting we can win if we score one hundred."

OoOoO

Sitting on a plane, making its way to Austin, Texas, was a certain blond who was bored out of his mind. He couldn't stop fidgeting in his seat and the attendants had to constantly tell him to sit still because he was bothering the other passengers. He was on a separate flight than the rest of the Konoha Ninjas and he hated it. _This sucks_, he thought, _I wish something exciting would happen._

As if his wish had been answered, a strange man came and sat down next to Naruto. He was old, with long white hair, and red paint marks on his face. "Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Nobody in particular," was the reply.

"Did you want something?"

"Yea, to know what team you play on."

Confused, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"The way you look, I can tell you play football, what team?" the man asked.

"Ko...Konoha Ninjas," Naruto replied hesitantly.

The old man seemed surprised, "Konoha? Really? That is interesting. And if I may ask, what are you doing going to America?"

"To play in a tournament," he replied.

"The American tournament? In Texas?"

Naruto nodded, "Yep, that's the one."

"Very interesting," the white haired man said, scratching his chin.

"Is there a reason why you came to talk to me?"

"You...look like someone I know. A great football player, died one day, car accident. Killed his wife too."

"That's sad."

"It is." The man stared past Naruto, seemingly lost in thought. After a few seconds, he laughed to himself and shook his head. "Anyway, you can call me Jiraiya."

Naruto tilted his head to the side. He had heard the name before, but couldn't remember where. Then it hit him. Jiraiya was Konoha's most famous running back! "You're Jiraiya?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You know me?" he asked, obviously pleased with the fact he was known.

"You were a great runner for Konoha!"

"Ah! Yes I was. I could have gone pro in America, but I wanted to do other things."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Like what?"

"I wanted to write books."

"What kind?" the blond asked.

"W-what kind?" Jiraiya sputtered. "W-well, you could say that they are...or maybe that...they are...adult books."

"Adult books? So you're a pervert?" Naruto blatantly said.

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he looked around, "Shhhhhhhh! Shut up, you stupid kid. Don't say that."

"Look Ero-sennin..."

"Don't call me that!" the man exclaimed.

"I don't care. I want a favor from you."

"Depends on what you want."

"I want you to coach my team."

"Coach? Why would you want me to do that?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto shrugged, "You are a graduate of Konoha, and you were the best runner to ever graduate there."

"Whoa, first of all, I'm not the greatest runner. I was the second greatest. I have to say that my apprentice was a lot better than me."

"Who was he?"

"He was a...," Jiraiya paused, "That guy that was killed in a car accident. I'll tell you the rest later. For now, I'll agree to coach your team, on one condition."

"Let me guess, I have to win the tournament?" Naruto asked, rather pissed off.

Jiraiya smiled, "No, you only have to win the first game. That gives me time to see what your team is made of. Once the first game's over, I'll either decide to coach you or not based on what I saw."

Naruto held out his hand, "Deal, by the way, the name's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." Jiraiya took his hand and shook it. There's one more thing for you to know..."

"What's that?"

"No one on my team knows who I really am, so don't call me Naruto in front of them. I'll always be in uniform around them and I'll be known as Eyeshield 21."

"Eyeshield 21? They used to call me that, until Mina...I mean my apprentice got better than me. Wait a minute, you can't be Eyeshield 21; there already is one."

"So? Why does it matter if there are two?" Naruto asked.

"Well, it's a title; a title given to the best running back in the world."

"Then there are two of us."

"That's impossible, how could there be two?"

"There's another Eyeshield on the Deimon Devilbats. I kinda stole his name cause I thought it was cool."

_Deimon?! What the hell? So there is now an Eyeshield 21 at Konoha, Teikoku, and now Deimon. Three Eyeshields all aiming to be the best. Since there can only be one, this is going to get_ very _interesting_, Jiraiya thought.

OoOoO

Once they arrived in Austin, they picked up their bags and exited the airport. Naruto checked a nearby clock and said, "We have two hours until our first game, but I want to get there early so I can change."

"But why? We can go check out the beach," Jiraiya suggested.

"You perverted old man; you just want to see girls in bikinis."

"I can't believe you _don't_ want to! You're a teenager for crying out loud!" Jiraiya exclaimed.

Naruto crossed his arms and frowned, "I already have a girl...sorta."

The old man laughed, "What do you mean 'sorta'?"

Naruto blushed, "Shut up. Let's just get to the stadium."

They called over a taxi and told the driver where to go. When they arrived at the stadium, Naruto was amazed at how large it was. It could easily hold over a thousand people, in fact that would probably only cover a one section of the seats.

"This is Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, home to the Texas Longhorns. This is one of the largest college football stadiums in America," Jiraiya informed the wide eyed blond.

"We're playing in a college stadium?" Naruto asked, still amazed.

"Of course, this is the biggest high school tournament in U. S."

"I wonder what teams we'll be playing."

"We'll find out when at the opening ceremony. Now go get changed, you're the one who wanted to get here early."

Naruto left Jiraiya at the front gate and made his way back to the locker rooms. He stuck his head inside and looked around; making sure no one was there. The room was empty, so Naruto entered the room and sat his gear down. Slowly and methodically, he began putting on his pads. He made sure to check everything; he made sure nothing was wrong with his uniform.

Once he was dressed, he held his helmet in his hands, his face reflected on the blue eyeshield. He smiled and slipped his helmet on, latching the straps. Now, all he had to do was wait. He checked the time and saw that there was only twenty minutes left until the opening ceremony and the first game.

At this time, people started coming in. Americans of all sizes entered the locker room. Large linemen, tall wide receivers, and strong running backs. There was a difference between Naruto and the rest of them, and he knew it. They were bigger, stronger, and knew the game better, but Naruto knew one thing; they were definitely not faster than him.

Finally, the rest of the Konoha team entered the locker room. They saw Eyeshield and immediately headed in his direction. They sat there stuff near him and began getting ready. Naruto noticed out of the corner of his eye, some people staring at him and whispering to themselves. He glanced over at them and they turned away.

Sasuke walked up and knelt down in front of him, "Are you ready?"

Naruto smiled, "Is that even a question? Of course I'm ready."

Sasuke laughed, "Right, I forgot who you were for a minute there."

Shikamaru walked over, "The question isn't if Eyeshield is ready, but if the rest of us are. Look at them, they look nervous. Except for Neji, but he's always been like that."

"You don't seem to be worried either," Naruto noticed.

"Are you crazy? I'm scared as hell."

At that moment, one of the American players walked over. He was a tall, black kid who looked strong as hell. When he talked, he surprised Naruto and the rest when he started speaking Japanese, "I'm sorry, but I thought I heard something that sounded like 'Eyeshield,' is that true?"

Naruto nodded, "That's right, what about it?"

"That title goes only to the best running back, and if you have that title, I want to let you know that I'll be aiming to take you down," the kid replied.

Naruto stood up, and looked up at the kid, "You can't beat me, there's no way I'll let you. I accept your challenge, and I won't lose."

The boy smiled and held out his hand, "I wouldn't expect anything less. By the way, the name's John, John Davis."

"You can just call me Eyeshield."

At this time, Shikamaru cut in, his curiosity getting the better of him, "You speak Japanese very well, where did you learn?"

"I studied in Japan for a year and a half, learned a lot. Played football there, but I got a scholarship to play back here in America and I took it."

Shikamaru nodded, "I can understand that."

"What team did you play for?"

"Teikoku Alexander's for a year. I never made it to the first team, though," John replied.

Sasuke's eyes bulged at the statement, but he quickly regained his composure. He immediately changed the subject saying, "Anyway, we wish you and your team luck."

John waved as he walked away, "Same to you."

As he walked away, Naruto frowned, "I hope we don't play that guy."

"You could tell too?" Sasuke asked.

"He's a natural athlete, and the way he's built doesn't hurt either," Shikamaru commented.

An announcement went off through the locker room over the speakers, telling them to report to the field for the opening ceremony. Konoha exited the locker room, walking out onto the Texas Longhorns' stadium.

The difference between Konoha's team and the rest of the teams was noticeable, as they lined up on the field in front of a large podium. Walking up to the microphone, a man held out his hand for silence. "Welcome everyone," he said, "Welcome to the tenth annual high school spring tournament. Competing this year are some of the best teams in America and a guest team from Japan. I want everyone to remember one thing before we begin; that this is fun. This is a great day for football, so get out there and play your hardest!"

The man stepped down, and immediately the people began taking down the stage. Over to the side, an official called over a captain from each team to grab a schedule. Sasuke went and grabbed the piece of paper and walked back to the team.

"I think it says here that only one game a day will be held here in this stadium and the rest will take place at local fields," Sasuke said. "We're scheduled to play...in the stadium first, against The Wolverines. They're a team from California, and very good it seems, as they are ranked in the top five."

Kankuro's eyes bulged, "Did you just say the Wolverines from California?!"

Sasuke looked suspiciously at the face-painted boy, "Yea, what about it."

"We'll be playing my brother's team. He transferred to America on a scholarship. We're going to be playing against Shikaku."

"Shikaku? Why's he named that?" Kiba asked.

"He's like a demon, the demon of the sand. He used to play beach football, but was recruited by American scouts. He's good, real good," Kankuro explained.

Naruto shrugged, "Who gives a damn? We shouldn't care; we came to win and nothing will stop us, not even some so called demon."

"We'll see about that," a voice came from behind Naruto. "Kankuro, my brother, it seems your teammates aren't listening to you; I'll show them why they should fear me and why they call me a demon, so prepare yourselves."

Naruto turned and stood, his nose less than an inch away from the boy. He looked him up and down, noticing the red hair; the dark black rings around his eyes, and most of all, Naruto noticed that he had no eyebrows. Stifling a laugh, Naruto said, "Bring it, sand demon."

"My name is Gaara, and by the end of the game, you'll be begging for mercy," the demon guaranteed.

"I don't think so." Naruto turned and stalked off the field. As he walked off the field, he spotted Jiraiya in the stands, talking to a beautiful blonde girl. Naruto sighed and shook his head. "Jiraiya," he called. "Jiraiya! Ero-sennin!"

At the last name, the old man finally turned, "What?"

"Come here, I need to ask you something."

Jiraiya scowled and walked down to the railing seperating the field from the stands. Leaning on the railing, he looked down and asked, "What's so important you need to interrupt me while I was talking to a beautiful woman?"

"Do you know who Gaara is?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya itched his eyebrow, "Sounds familiar, but I can't say from where."

"Maybe you've heard of Shikaku? That's his nickname."

"Did you say Shikaku? Interesting," the white haired man said, rubbing his chin.

"You've heard about him?"

"Him, no, but Shikaku, yes." Jiraiya cleared his throat, "There is a legend that in American football that there will be nine people who will emerge as geniuses. They will become known as the best football players to ever play the sport. They are named after the nine tailed demons who, in myth, ruled the demon world. Emperors of football named after the emperors of the demon world; it fits. This Gaara person is the first of the nine players I have heard of so far, but I don't doubt that the others are out there somewhere. Trust me, though, he will not be an easy opponent."

Naruto gulped, "Well how do I beat him?"

"You don't, not unless you are one of the nine as well. It will be extremely tough, as these geniuses are usually able to master special techniques that no one else may learn. This will be a tough battle for you, Eyeshield."

"And what if I turned out to be one of these nine that you're talking about?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya laughed and wiped a tear from his eye, "If you turn out to be one of the nine, I'll not only coach your team, I will personally teach you everything I know."

Naruto smiled from underneath his helmet, "Then we are definitely going to win."

Jiraiya shrugged, "Then go and prove it."

Naruto turned and walked back to Konoha's bench and sat down. He watched as Sasuke stood at midfield and shook the hand of the other captain as they prepared for the coin toss. The referee flipped the coin in the air and in that few seconds, Naruto locked eyes with Gaaraon the other side of the field, and Naruto knew at that moment, that the deciding point of this game was whether or not Naruto could defeat Gaara.


	5. Chapter 5 Enter Shukaku

well, I finally finished this chapter. I got it to where I want it anyway. The reason this is later than I hoped is because I've been to busy thinking of the future of the story instead of right now. Oh well, enjoy it anyway. Hope you all like it. R&R please;

Just so you all know, any references to NCAA, NFL, or people that are associated with either are not mine. also there could be events based on actual happenings in actual NFL games, so those ideas aren't mine, but actually happened and were cool. like Larry Fitz catching anything that comes his way or the famous NY Giants helmet catch.

* * *

**Enter Shukaku  
**

It was a beautiful spring morning; bright, sunny; it was a great day for a game of football, and at the moment, Konoha was doing just that; playing in an American Tournament, about to start the first game.

People gathered in the stadium, taking their seats, enjoying the light breeze, as they sat in the almost seventy degree weather. A voice boomed over the loud speakers, "Hello, and welcome to the first game of the Texas High School Tournament! I'm your announcer today, Lee Corso and I'm happy to be here in this Texas Stadium, home to the Texas Longhorns. And now everyone, turn your attention to the field as the players are walking out."

After winning the coin toss, Naruto placed himself in the end zone, ignoring the announcer; waiting for the Wolverines to kick the football and begin the game. With everyone in place, and a quick check just in case, the referee blew the whistle and the kicker jogged forward and launched the ball high into the air. It hung there for what seemed like ages, but when it finally came down, it didn't fall into Naruto's hands, but Neji's!

It had been a short kick, only to the twenty yard line, obviously intending to keep Naruto away from the ball. Either way, Neji returned the ball only ten yards and Konoha was to begin their offense around the thirty.

Sasuke led his offense right to the line without going into the huddle. Everyone knew what the first play would be, even the other team, so there was no reason to huddle up to tell the team that. It was obviously going to be a run.

Sasuke hiked the ball, turning to hand it off. Naruto raised his arms and grabbed the ball, rushing towards the middle of the line, but when he was tackled, the defense realized that he didn't have the ball. Everyone knew it would be a run, so that's why Sasuke did exactly the opposite and decided to go with the pass.

Sasuke looked down the field for an open receiver and saw Neji running down the sideline. Sasuke heaved the ball up, throwing a good fifty yards down the field to the wide open reciever, and everyone thought it was definitely going to be a touchdown.

The ball floated down towards Neji's outstretched hands, but as it came down, a hand shot out and slapped the ball away. Stunned, Neji turned and saw Gaara next to him. He never noticed Gaara; how he anticipated the fake run, and caught up to Neji in time to bat away the pass.

Neji stormed back to the huddle, "How did he do that? He was no where near me!"

Kankuro frowned, "That's how he is. He's always there."

"What position does he play?" Naruto asked.

"Cornerback, most likely the best to play football," Kankuro said, "He can cover any pass, but he reacts so quickly that it seems he can read the play. Not only can he cover any pass, but he supports the run defense and stops the runners before they can do anything."

"So not only our receivers need to beat him, but Eyeshield 21 too?" Chouji asked.

Kankuro nodded, "You guys have to beat him, or we can't win."

"Shit," Sasuke said. "Okay, so the first pass failed, let's try Eyeshield this time."

Konoha stepped up to the line of scrimmage and got into position. Gaara was covering Neji, but his eyes were constantly moving, watching everyone, ready to act. He was like a predator, stalking his prey, reading the field, reacting solely on instinct. Gaara truly was an animal.

The ball was snapped and Naruto ran forward, grabbing the ball and running to the right of the pile. Just as expected, Gaara was already there waiting for him. Naruto faked to the right and cut back to the left, but Gaara didn't bight. Gaara firmly wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and lifted him into the air, and then slammed him into the ground.

Naruto's head rang when his head slammed the ground. Gradually, as the play was brought to an end, the ringing in his head dulled and Naruto began to hear Gaara speaking to him.

"That is my special technique, the Sand Coffin Tackle. No one has ever escaped the tackle, accurately being named a coffin. This is only one part of my ultimate absolute defense, but I don't want to spoil the surprise," Gaara said, smiling.

Naruto made his way back from to the huddle, his head still ringing. "You all right Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"Fine," was the immediate reply.

Sasuke nodded, "So we gained two yards on this drive so far, but we need eight more to get the first down and keep moving forward. Any suggestions?"

"I say we run again, it's our strongest option right now," Shikamaru stated.

Sasuke nodded, "Agreed. We run it to the left."

The offense set up and Naruto tensed up, waiting for the ball. Chouji hiked the ball, giving it to Sasuke, who dropped back and put it into Naruto's hands. Naruto got around the pile, but was met face to face with Gaara once again. He juked to the right and then spun to the left, trying his hardest to get by the demon. Naruto slipped by, and smiled to himself.

Then he heard Gaara chuckle and yell out, "Not so fast! How about you have a taste of Shukaku's Spear!"

Confused, Naruto turned his head to the side to glance over his shoulder. He saw Gaara's hand shoot out and wrap around Naruto's chest. Using one arm, Gaara heaved and threw the blond back about three yards. Naruto lay on the ground, coughing, gasping for breath, his chest throbbing and his head spinning for a second time.

"That is why he's the best cornerback playing football, possibly the best defender even," the announcer explained to the crowd, "Using the Sand Coffin Tackle, he is able to wrap up anyone who is in front of him, and with Shikaku's Spear, he can grab anyone going to the outside of him; it is the ultimate defense. It is almost like a sphere around him, and anyone who enters that area will not pass. This is the ultimate absolute defense, Shield of Shukaku and that is what this team has built it's game plan around."

Naruto lay there, gasping for breath, when Gaara appeared above him. "You can't beat me, I'm one of the nine. One of the nine emperors of football, and only another emperor can defeat me. You are good, I'll give you that. You have speed, genuine, pure speed; not to mention your upper body strength is beyond a normal runningback's. With training, you could be a great runner, rivaling the nine emperors, but right now, you are nothing. Learning from your mistakes, improving while in the middle of a game, and most of all, you must create something that is your own. In your case, your own form of running; that is what makes an emperor." Gaara sighed and walked off, leaving Naruto there.

Naruto finally caught his breath and managed to get back to his side of the ball and watched as Konoha punted the ball to the other side. There was a brief break as the offense and defense switched for the Wolverines, and one of Gaara's teammates took this time to ask him something.

"Hey Gaara, why'd you say those things to him?" the boy asked.

Gaara shrugged, "I don't know, there's just something about him and I felt like I should say something to help him. That boy...we might have trouble winning this game."

The other boy shivered, "Don't say that, whenever you say something like that, it never turns out well."

Naruto took the field at the Wolverines' forty-five yard line. He looked at the offense of the Wolverines and noticed that Gaara was not there. "Where's Gaara?" he asked Kankuro.

"He doesn't play offense and defense like we do. Between you and me, he was never really good at offense anyway, just defense," was the reply.

Shikamaru frowned, "These guys, they are not to good on offense, trust me. From the way they act, they know they aren't very good, but I wouldn't go easy on them just to be sure. If anything, I'd say that the defense rules this team."

Sasuke smiled, "Well that's a relief."

Naruto frowned. Even so, Naruto knew that they were at a disadvantage, since they only had eleven people for both offense and defense, while the other team had countless substitutes. No matter what, they would be exhausted by the end of the game.

The wolverines offense snapped the ball for their first play. The quarterback dropped back, gave a pump fake and dropped it off to his running back. Naruto was there immediately; grabbing the boy, twisting and pulling him to the ground.

On the second play, they tried running the ball, but Chouji plugged up the line and didn't let anything past him. Their third down play was a pass, but that was knocked down and it turned out to be a quick three-and-out by the Wolverines.

OoOoO

Jiraiya sat a few rows up from the field, watching the match intently. It was strange for him, since there were so many beautiful women around, but this boy intrigued him. This kid was a first time player, had natural speed and talent, all that was missing was experience and a reason. jiraiya knew that Naruto was only playing because he was asked to, not because he wanted to. Without the want, the need, to play and win, he was only putting in a half-hearted effort. Still, for a half-hearted effort, the kid was good.

_Amazing_, Jiraiya thought, _This kid...could he have inherited his father's running style? Can he learn the Kyuubi Run? Maybe even the....no, no way. That run is impossible, even for him.  
_

He watched as the ball was punted back to Konoha, and Naruto returned it thirty yards to the Wolverines' forty.

_The true test will be if he can beat Garaa. If he can defeat Garaa just once, he will prove that he is one of the nine, one of the emperors, _the old man thought, scratching his chin.

The hermit sat there watching for a while. The defenses of each team held strong so far as both teams punted back and forth. Close to the end of the second quarter, the old man stood and exited the stands and made his way to the Konoha bench. _Even if they lose,_ he thought, _I'm interested to see what this team could do with some training._

OoOoO

Naruto took the field once more, adjusting his helmet and making sure his gloves were secure. It was their turn again, and this time Naruto was sure they would score.

Garaa paced back and forth, watching Naruto, like a lion watching his prey. Naruto shivered, this guy was something else. Sasuke hiked the ball and dropped back. Naruto got in position to block anyone that came near him. Unfortunately, it was Garaa.

Naruto ran forward and slammed into Garaa, but Naruto ended up being the one that was pushed back. Garaa reached out with one hand and grabbed Sasuke's jersey. Sasuke tried to pull free, but Garaa pushed Naruto down and wrapped Sasuke up.

Garaa stood and started running down the field. A quick glance told Naruto that the demon had taken the ball and was about to score. Scowling, Naruto dashed after him.

Within seconds, Naruto caught up using his light speed and grabbed Garaa. He scowled and stuck his hand in Naruto's face, pushing him away. Naruto fell away and Garaa scored the touchdown.

"Damn," Naruto said. He glanced at the scoreboard; there were two minutes left in the first half. Naruto realized that the way it was going, the Wolverines might not score another touchdown and still win.

After the kickoff, Konoha once again began at the their own thirty. Naruto jogged to the sideline to grab a quick drink, and noticed Jiraiya standing there. He nodded in his direction and Naruto walked up to him. "What is it?" he asked.

"You have the potential to be a great runner," the old man said, "but you know what you lack? You know what everyone else has, except for you?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, what?"

"A reason to win, a will to win," he replied. "You aren't putting all your effort into it. You're only doing this because you were forced to right?"

Naruto was stunned, "You think I don't want to win?"

"No, I know you want to win, but why is it that you want to win? Just because? For what reason are you playing this game?"

"No, I want to win because...," Naruto frowned, his mind coming up blank.

"Exactly. As soon as you find a reason for you to win, your game with improve immensely."

Naruto nodded and walked back to the huddle. _Something I want to play for? _Naruto wondered. He looked at Garaa and scowled then around at all his friends, _What I want...is to play with my friends, to win with them, but mostly... I think the biggest reason is that I want to be the best! To be better than Gaara, to be one of the nine emperors of football.  
_

Jiraiya saw the change in his behavior almost immediately. The way he carried himself told Jiraiya that he had found a purpose, the will to win.

No matter what, Naruto told himself he would beat Gaara.

With about ninety seconds left in the half, Konoha knew they had to at least get in field goal range and see if they could get some points on the board. Sasuke called them all to the huddle and said, "Okay, look, we need to go at least get to the twenty five for a field goal. We still have all three of our timeouts, so we'll run the ball once and use one right away. Then we'll have to start passing."

Neji looked at Naruto, "That means you have to do something with this run."

"I know," was his reply.

They broke from the huddle and set up. Sasuke prayed that this play work, that Naruto was able to get something. He hiked the ball and handed it to Naruto. He ran to the right, sidestepped one of the defenders, spun around another and then went face to face with Gaara.

Naruto shut down his mind, he acted on pure instinct instead of trying to think about what he should do. He juked from left to right multiple times, over and over. His feet were a blur as he stutter-stepped side to side.

Gaara saw double. He saw Naruto and then what seemed to be a clone of him. Gaara went back and forth, trying to find the right one. He took a chance and went for the one to his right, but what he caught was thin air.

Gaara stared, eyes wide as the real Naruto raced by him and went untouched the rest of the way into the endzone. Gaara couldn't believe his eyes, couldn't believe he had been deceived.

Naruto was just as stunned, he couldn't believe that that had actually worked. "What the-?" he said, looking back at the demon. "How'd I do that?"

The next thing he knew was that his teammates tackled him and congratulated him. Naruto smiled and thanked them, but he was still pretty shocked.

He walked to the sideline and Jiraiya smiled, "Looks like you're one of the elite, kid, but don't think that trick will work a second time. They don't call Gaara an emperor for nothing."

Naruto nodded as the extra point was kicked and the first half ended with the score at 7-7.

During the half, Jiraiya called Naruto over. He told Naruto to take a seat and stretch to stay warmed-up. "Okay, you beat Gaara once, but guess what? You still have a whole other half left. Don't get cocky, you understand?"

Naruto nodded, "I know, he's still an emperor, he can learn."

"Right. Now, on another note, that run you did right there, that run is known as the Bunshin Run. An elite run that makes the other players see double, and if performed right, they can end up seeing a whole lot more than double. To do that takes a lot of training, so I don't want you to push yourself to hard to do something that advanced. Stick with what you got and use it to your advantage." He cleared his throat, "Another thing, in order to learn that run the proper way, you'll need a sensei. And your team could use one too."

Naruto smiled, "You mean you're gonna coach us?"

The man smiled, "That's what I'm saying."

Naruto jumped up and pumped a fist into the air, "Hell yea!"

Jiraiya laughed and then looked back over to the field, "Looks like the second half is starting, you should head out there."

Naruto nodded and ran off toward the field.

OoOoO

At the beginning of the second half, the Wildcats were set to start with the ball first. After the kickoff, the Wildcats offense stepped onto the field, but at the runningback position was someone new. It was Gaara.

"If you play both sides of the game, then so will I," he said.

Naruto nodded and watched Gaara carefully. The quarterback hiked the ball and handed it off to Gaara. He burst forward and ran up the middle, but was cut down after only a minimal gain. Naruto smirked, looked like Gaara really wasn't good at offense.

The next play was a pass play to Gaara, but again he was caught after a gain of one or two yards. For third down, the quarterback kept it himself and ran around to the left and gained five yards, but was short of the first down.

Forced to punt, Naruto awaited the kick. Following the return to about midfield, Konoha was going to begin their first drive of the second half. As per usual, they huddled up, and talked over what play they were going to use.

Sasuke smiled, "We'll run a screen, I'll pass it off to Eyeshield at the last possible second."

"What?" Lee asked, confused.

"The linemen are going to let the other team past them, and then move over to which ever side Naruto is on to block for him," Sasuke explained quickly.

Kiba laughed, "A screen? Could work, only if enough people blitz though."

"You got that Eyeshield?" Sasuke asked.

"Yea, yea, I know what a screen play is," he replied.

When Sasuke hiked the ball, he was surprised to see six people blitz him. The linemen simply moved and let them pass, and moved off to the side. Sasuke lobbed it over to Naruto and he followed a wall of linemen up the field before he was finally brought down after a twenty yard gain.

Gaara frowned, the momentum swing was enormous, he couldn't let the game slip away from them. He decided it was time to use his best technique, The Third Eye. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind, sensed the movement around him. Soon, he saw a picture of the field. He saw Konoha hike the ball, and Gaara rushed toward the middle of the field just as Naruto arrived.

Gaara saw it, he saw Naruto's run. He was about to use the strange run he used before. Gaara concentrated, and saw the real one, saw the real one and reached out. He grabbed Naruto around the waist and slammed him into the ground.

Naruto lay there, pissed off. He knew Gaara would stop this run, but he didn't expect it to be that fast.

He got up and went back to the huddle. They decided to run it again, and Naruto made a decision that he knew was going to cost him. He decided to hell with Jiraiya; he was going to use the Bunshin Run, but push it to it's limits.

As the ball was hiked, a hole opened up in the middle and Naruto ran straight through it. Gaara was there, waiting.

Naruto used the Bunshin Run. At first there were only two of him, then three. A fourth one faded in and out, but it was enough. Gaara was confused and had chosen the wrong one, allowing Naruto to get by.

He smirked, but after a few yards, he fell to the ground crying out in pain. His right knee had given out, and was throbbing. He stood up on one leg and hopped to the side line, and took a seat. He looked over and saw Jiraiya glaring at him.

"Didn't I just say not to push yourself?" he asked, "I knew this was going to happen."

Hinata came over and wrapped his knee in ice, keeping the swelling down, and easing the pain. "A-are you ok N-Naruto-kun?" she asked, concerned.

Naruto smiled, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He reached out and moved a piece of hair from her face, "I'm tougher than I look you know."

Hinata blushed, "I know, I-I just don't want y-you to be hurt too b-badly."

Jiraiya came over and bent down to take a look. "It looks alright, you'll be fine in a few minutes." Hinata sighed in relief and left the two alone.

Forced to sit on the sideline, Naruto watched as Konoha stalled at the twenty-five yard line and were forced to kick a field goal. This put them in the lead at 10-7.

The third quarter ended, and the fourth passed without much excitement. Naruto returned to the game, but was limited due to his knee, and so Gaara was able to stop Konoha's offense almost single-handedly. But, the Wolverine's offense was far worse and wasn't able to get a single first down in the final minutes of the game.

As the clock wound down to zero, Konoha lept for joy at winning their first game, but it was far from over. They were to face the Texas Prep Warriors next, the team that John Davis was on.

As the team approached the sideline, Jiraiya called the team to him. "Look," he said, "You guys have two days until the next game. I'm going to train you for the game, so meet me here tomorrow morning at six o'clock."

A groan rose from the team. "Six? Why so early?" Kiba groaned.

"You guys need all the training you can get, the earlier we start, the more you can get in."

"He's right," Shikamaru said. "What? Don't look at me like that, I'm serious. Yea I'm lazy, but that doesn't mean I won't work hard."

Jiraiya nodded, "Yea, what that kid said. Anyway, be here by six, now go get some sleep."

The team dispersed to gather their equipment and head to the hotel.

Naruto was sitting on the bench when the old man walked up to him. "Hey, I need to talk to you."

"What about?" the blonde asked.

Jiraiya frowned, "It's about your family."

"My family?" Naruto asked, "What about them?"

"Well, I think you should know about your father. His name was Minato, Namikaze Minato and he was a famous football player."


	6. Update Plus Preview

NOT A NEW CHAPTER BUT READ TO THE END ANYWAY FOR A PREVIEW! Sorry everyone, this is not the new chapter. I am just writing to let everyone know that I am not giving up on this story, plus I'm giving you guys a sneak peak.

So, right now, chapter 6 is almost done, give me a week or two and it should be up, not promising anything, but it should be up. The reason I haven't updated in such a long time is that I was doing final exams and crap. Then I went to a camp that would look good on a college application. As soon as I got back, my family packed up our shit and we moved. Yes we moved to a different state. We had no internet for like a week, so I basically did no writing, though, in hindsight I probably could have gotten it done on word. Anyway, my bad.

Once we got internet, I spent the following days catching up on everything I missed, manga, news, shit like that.

Now, more about the story. I have to say, when I first wrote the story, like the 1st chapter, I thought that I would be lucky to get over 200 views and one or two favs. I am now over 1,000 views and 13 favs. Now that might not seem like a lot to some, but to me, who was expecting nothing, it's huge. There is one thing I would like to ask you guys to do for me, and that is review more! Give me some feedback, let me know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong, please! I'm begging you all.

Now, in one of my reviews it asks if I have a technique set for all the _Naruto_ characters. The answer is: sorta. There are some that I just can't do, unless someone else can think of something. Lee for instance, besides the eight inner gates, which I am including, all his moves are fighting moves and won't work. Also, Chouji and Neji are both difficult. Chouji's techniques make him huge or parts of him huge. Can't really do anything with that. Neji's techs are the 64 palm strike and kaiten. The palm strike is out cause it's a fighting move and those don't work real well in football, unless you want to get ejected. The kaiten is hard cause it's a defensive move, but spinning does nothing in football unless you're on offense. I could change it but I don't know.

So that's that on the techniques. The final thing I want to talk about before the sneak peak, is the way I'm presenting the next chapter. While I was writing the chapter I started writing stuff that was basically a filler episode. It pissed me off, but I didn't want to delete it cause I thought it was funny, so I've decided to take that material and make an omake chapter that will just be a bunch of events that happen during the chapter, but aren't pivotal to the plot, _OR_ I can hold a contest where I choose the best omake. Of course you won't win anything except a shout-out, I don't really have anything to give you. I would rep you, but they don't have that on fanfiction. It's up to you guys, the fans, let me know.

**Thanks for putting up with that, so here is a sneak peak:**

"You knew my father?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded, "He was my friend, my pupil." He paused, deep in thought. Finally he motioned for Naruto to follow him, "Lets go to a restaurant, we'll talk there."

Naruto nodded, still confused, still shocked. He made sure no one was around and then changed out of his uniform. He followed Jiraiya out of the stadium and walked next to him for the next few blocks. They found a diner nearby and entered. They noticed an open booth in the back corner and took a seat.

The waiter came over and asked for their orders, Jiraiya answered, fluently talking in English. She left the two alone and Naruto leaned forward and stared at the old man. "Well?" he asked, "What about my father?"

Jiraiya cleared his throat, "I'll start from the beginning, from the time I graduated Konoha High.

"You see, when I graduated from Konoha, I had been part of a famous trio of football players, as you probably already know. Tsunade, Orochimaru, and I were the best, or so we had thought. We were considered to be the best, even called the three Demon Emperors of Konoha. We were part of the nine of our generation, but we could never win the Christmas Bowl, no matter what we did. Teikoku, they were unbeatable. They recruited the best players from around the country, not to mention a bountiful helping of their own 'Emperors'. The players were so good that even non-emperors rivaled us in power. So we went through all our years in high school without winning one Christmas Bowl. The day we graduated, was the day your father entered the school.

"As you can guess, your father, Minato, was truly amazing. He was without question, the best runningback there ever was, even better than me. I took him under my wing, taught him everything I know, and he went far beyond my expectations. He learned all the different styles of running there were. From the American's to his own form, he could run just as well as anyone. During his second year of high school, he was 'promoted' to an emperor. The Kyuubi Emperor, the strongest of the nine; that had once been my title, but he took it to a whole new level."

At this point, the waiter brought them their orders and Jiraiya continued after every fork-full, "In his final year in school, Konoha brought in a special crop of freshmen. These included Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, and Maito Gai. Hatake Kakashi became a famous widereciever and linebacker. He was a master of copying other people's techniques, but he did have one original move, it was known as the Chidori. It was more of a defensive move, but it was used on offense on some occasions. It's very similar to Gaara's 'Shukaku's Spear.' Obito was their top quarterback. He was able to read defenses with a glance; he found holes everywhere. This was called the Sharingan. Then there was Gai. He was a complete idiot, but he was a talented idiot. As a fullback, he used his crazy strength to run over defenses and became a very good blocker. His favorite technique was the 'Eight Inner Gates', where he used everything he had to break tackles, run people over, and pretty much do what he wanted, though since it left him exhausted afterward, he decided to only use it should it be a do-or-die type of situation.

"With these teammates, Konoha was considered to be the greatest force in all of Japanese football, and were expected to beat Teikoku and end their rule over the Christmas Bowl. But the year Konoha gained this talent, Teikoku recruited a special group of players. By this, I mean that they recruited the other eight emperors. Even with Kakashi and the others, Minato was the only one who could beat an emperor. As they say, only an emperor can beat an emperor. With eight of them on their team, Teikoku crushed Konoha and Minato graduated.

"After high school, he went to Konoha U and began playing football there, and while there he met a beautiful young lady, her name was Kushina. The young couple got married soon after Minato graduated college. They moved to America, where he became the first Japanese player to join the NFL, though only for a few years before sustaining a terrible knee injury that ended his career. Soon after, they moved back to Japan and settled down. They had a child, a blond, blue eyed, stubborn child, and his name was Naruto."

"And what happened to them?" Naruto's eyes hardened, knowing the answer to his question already.

Jiraiya looked away from Naruto, avoiding his eyes, "They...they died. One day, while out shopping, they were hit head on by a car, they were killed instantly."

Naruto sucked in a ragged breath, "And where was I? Why wasn't I with them?"

"You were home with...," he hesitated for a second, "You were home with me, I am your godfather after all. They had asked me to watch you for a little while."

Naruto frowned, "You're my godfather?" Naruto felt like screaming at him, grabbing the man by his shirt and shaking him, but instead he leaned in close and whispered, "You mean to tell me that you left me all alone those years, without anyone there for me?"

"I couldn't take care of you, I wasn't prepared to take care of you, I had to give you up. I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me," the man pleaded.

Naruto sighed, he wasn't one to hold a grudge, "I...I can try, but...why? Why weren't you there later on? You could have told me at least."

"Well," Jiraiya began, "I was there. I was always watching out for you, how do you think I just happened to run into you on the plane?"

"So you were watching out for me?"

"Of course, you're my godchild."

They finished up their meals and the check was brought to them. Naruto sat in silence for a few minutes before finally asking, "So why tell me this now?"

"Because, you're old enough to know now and handle it. Plus," he added, "I'm going to teach you all your father's runs. Since you have his blood, you will take the mantle of Eyeshield 21 and will become the Kyuubi emperor, the best there ever was or ever will be. Think you can handle it?" the perverted old man asked.

A smile crept onto Naruto's lips, "Of course I can, I want to be the best, I want to make my dad proud."

"Good," Jiraiya said, a smile creeping onto his face.


	7. Chapter 6 Konoha of Old

Hey, look at that! A new chapter! Now, some info. I'm a Ravens fan (i bleed purple). Since I'm a Ravens fan I enjoy a good defense, so Konoha is going to have a great offense _and_ defense, not just offense like Deimon. Also, no need to worry, I don't do 'training' chapters they're annoying and a waste of time. I'll probably skip right to the tourney and show what they learn through various (entertaining) flashbacks.

Also, this might feel a bit rushed, but I really want to get to the fall tourney, chapter 7 is already started, I'll be half way done by the time I upload this chapter. Anyway, enjoy, review!!! (please!!), have fun, but please, no flaming me for being a Ravens fan.

* * *

**Konoha of Old**

"You knew my father?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded, "He was my friend, my pupil." He paused, deep in thought. Finally he motioned for Naruto to follow him, "Lets go to a restaurant, we'll talk there."

Naruto nodded, still confused, still shocked. He made sure no one was around and then changed out of his uniform. He followed Jiraiya out of the stadium and walked next to him for the next few blocks. They found a diner nearby and entered. They noticed an open booth in the back corner and took a seat.

The waiter came over and asked for their orders, Jiraiya answered, fluently talking in English. She left the two alone and Naruto leaned forward and stared at the old man. "Well?" he asked, "What about my father?"

Jiraiya cleared his throat, "I'll start from the beginning, from the time I graduated Konoha High.

"You see, when I graduated from Konoha, I had been part of a famous trio of football players, as you probably already know. Tsunade, Orochimaru, and I were the best, or so we had thought. We were considered to be the best, even called the three Demon Emperors of Konoha. We were part of the nine of our generation, but we could never win the Christmas Bowl, no matter what we did. Teikoku, they were unbeatable. They recruited the best players from around the country, not to mention a bountiful helping of their own 'Emperors'. The players were so good that even non-emperors rivaled us in power. So we went through all our years in high school without winning one Christmas Bowl. The day we graduated, was the day your father entered the school.

"As you can guess, your father, Minato, was truly amazing. He was without question, the best running back there ever was, even better than me. I took him under my wing, taught him everything I know, and he went far beyond my expectations. He learned all the different styles of running there were. From the American's to his own form, he could run just as well as anyone. During his second year of high school, he was 'promoted' to an emperor. The Kyuubi Emperor, the strongest of the nine; that had once been my title, but he took it to a whole new level."

At this point, the waiter brought them their orders and Jiraiya continued after every fork-full, "In his final year in school, Konoha brought in a special crop of freshmen. These included Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, and Maito Gai. Hatake Kakashi became a famous widereciever and linebacker. He was a master of copying other people's techniques, but he did have one original move, it was known as the Chidori. It was more of a defensive move, but it was used on offense on some occasions. It's very similar to Gaara's 'Shukaku's Spear.' Obito was their top quarterback. He was able to read defenses with a glance; he found holes everywhere. This was called the Sharingan. Then there was Gai. He was a complete idiot, but he was a talented idiot. As a fullback, he used his crazy strength to run over defenses and became a very good blocker. His favorite technique was the 'Eight Inner Gates', where he used everything he had to break tackles, run people over, and pretty much do what he wanted, though since it left him exhausted afterward, he decided to only use it should it be a do-or-die type of situation.

"With these teammates, Konoha was considered to be the greatest force in all of Japanese football, and were expected to beat Teikoku and end their rule over the Christmas Bowl. But the year Konoha gained this talent, Teikoku recruited a special group of players. By this, I mean that they recruited the other eight emperors. Even with Kakashi and the others, Minato was the only one who could beat an emperor. As they say, only an emperor can beat an emperor. With eight of them on their team, Teikoku crushed Konoha and Minato graduated.

"After high school, he went to Konoha U and began playing football there, and while there he met a beautiful young lady, her name was Kushina. The young couple got married soon after Minato graduated college. They moved to America, where he became the first Japanese player to join the NFL, though only for a few years before sustaining a terrible knee injury that ended his career. Soon after, they moved back to Japan and settled down. They had a child, a blond, blue eyed, stubborn child, and his name was Naruto."

"And what happened to them?" Naruto's eyes hardened, knowing the answer to his question already.

Jiraiya looked away from Naruto, avoiding his eyes, "They...they died. One day, while out shopping, they were hit head on by a car, they were killed instantly."

Naruto sucked in a ragged breath, "And where was I? Why wasn't I with them?"

"You were home with...," he hesitated for a second, "You were home with me, I am your godfather after all. They had asked me to watch you for a little while."

Naruto frowned, "You're my godfather?" Naruto felt like screaming at him, grabbing the man by his shirt and shaking him, but instead he leaned in close and whispered, "You mean to tell me that you left me all alone those years, without anyone there for me?"

"I couldn't take care of you, I wasn't prepared to take care of you, I had to give you up. I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me," the man pleaded.

Naruto sighed, he wasn't one to hold a grudge, "I...I can try, but...why? Why weren't you there later on? You could have told me at least."

"Well," Jiraiya began, "I was there. I was always watching out for you, how do you think I just happened to run into you on the plane?"

"So you were watching out for me?"

"Of course, you're my godchild."

They finished up their meals and the check was brought to them. Naruto sat in silence for a few minutes before finally asking, "So why tell me this now?"

"Because, you're old enough to know now and handle it. Plus," he added, "I'm going to teach you all your father's runs. Since you have his blood, you will take the mantle of Eyeshield 21 and you will become the Kyuubi Emperor, the best there ever was or ever will be. Think you can handle it?" the perverted old man asked.

A smile crept onto Naruto's lips, "Of course I can, I want to be the best, I want to make my dad proud."

"Good," Jiraiya said, a smile creeping onto his face.

OoOoO

The following day, Konoha met at a local high school football field. There, they spent the following days practicing. Jiraiya slowly walked around the field halting practice where he saw fit to point out something or correct someone's form.

The final day passed by and Konoha went back to the hotel, completely exhausted.

That night, Naruto heard a knock on his door. He got up slowly and walked to the door, rubbing his eyes. He opened it and Shikamaru pushed him aside and entered the room.

"Yea, you can come right in," Naruto said grumpily, "Have a seat, make yourself at home."

Shikamru silenced him, "We need to talk."

Naruto yawned, "About what? I want to go to sleep."

"I know your secret."

Naruto laughed, and then grabbed Shikamaru by the arm and dragged him to the door, "And I know yours."

Shikamaru frowned, "Wait...what?"

Naruto threw him out of the room and said, "It's ok, I won't tell."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked, truly confused.

"Look, I'm sure Kankuro won't be _too_ mad you're dating his sister," Naruto said sleepily as he closed the door.

Shikamaru blushed in anger. "How do you know that?" he asked indignantly as the door closed in his face.

Shikamaru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "So troublesome...."

He knocked on the door. When there was no answer he knocked again. He kept knocking and knocking until finally Naruto threw the door open and grabbed him by the shirt, holding him centimeters from his face, and whispered, "What. Do. You. Want. I'm trying to sleep!"

Shikamaru smiled, "Fine, go to sleep, Eyeshield."

"Thank yo-....." Naruto froze, "What did you just say?"

"You're Eyeshield aren't you?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Naruto frowned, "What are you talking about?"

At this, Shikamaru smiled. "Don't try to lie to me, I mean, could you have made it any more obvious? Let me list the reasons: One, you never show up to the practice even though you're 'assistant manager,'" he blatantly stated, making the air quotes. "Two, why would you be so tired and sore unless you practiced too? And three, Hinata only likes one guy and she's watching this Eyeshield guy all the time."

Naruto blushed at the last reason, "Ah..."

Shikamaru folded his arms, "So when are you going to tell the rest of the team who you are?"

Naruto frowned, "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"They deserve to know," the brown haired genius said.

Naruto gave in and said, "Alright, I'll tell them after the tournament. For now, please keep my secret. Sasuke really didn't want anyone to know."

Shikamaru looked confused. "I wonder why?" he asked aloud.

"Who knows, he has his reasons."

As the two continued to talk, Sasuke stood outside the room, listening to their conversation. _You're right, _he thought, _I do have my reasons. I will not lose anyone else, I won't be betrayed again..._

OoOoO

The next morning, the team was up early to get ready for the game. Naruto had already left the hotel and was at the stadium suited up and ready to go. His teammates arrived about an hour before the game began. They used the time to loosen up and stretch.

Finally it was time for the game to start. Fans had begun to enter the stadium, but not many people wanted to watch a Japanese team play. Most people would show up for the second game.

As the American National Anthem was being played, across the field, Naruto spotted John Davis. The kid who had said he would take the mantle of Eyeshield 21 away from him. Naruto scowled, he would not allow that, or so he hoped.

Once the coin toss was taken care of, Konoha was set to receive the kick. The referee blew his whistle and the American kicker began the game.

OoOoO

Naruto sat on the bench, staring at the clock, the final seconds slowly ticking away. The score was 35-0, a blowout, a humiliating defeat. This team compared to the last one they had played was far greater. They were stronger, faster, smarter; they were the prototypical American football team.

John Davis stood before Naruto, frowning. "I expected more from the vaunted Eyeshield 21, but I was disappointed. Did you expect the game to go like your last one?" he asked. "The last team you played was a joke, they never make it past the second round. My team, we're the team to beat, the top team in high school. If you want to beat us, you're going to need some hellish training."

Then John scowled, "You don't deserve the mantle of Eyeshield, I'm relieving you of that title."

Naruto jumped to his feet and grabbed the boy by his jersey, "I don't think so! I'm going to train, and I'll become better than any player, even you! I'll become the best player in the world!"

John smiled, "Brave words, and arrogant, but I like that." He shoved Naruto away, "Keep your title. Go, train and come back and play me again. If you fail, that is when I'll take your mantle of best runner."

Naruto smirked, "There are a few things in Japan I need to take care of, but once I'm finished I'll come back."

John raised an eyebrow, "What few things?"

"In Japan there are two other supposed Eyeshields; only when I defeat them and become the only Eyeshield will I come and face you again," Naruto clarrified.

The American running back seemed surprised at first, and then smiled, "I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't want to face a fake." John held out his hand and Naruto gave a firm handshake.

John walked away, leaving Naruto standing there watching him. Sasuke walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll improve, then you'll show him who's better," Sasuke assured him.

"Yea, well, I have a ways to go," Naruto replied.

Sasuke laughed, "That's an understatement, but then again, we all do."

"Hell yea you do, and we start training in two days," a familiar perverted voice said from behind them.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "We don't leave for Japan _until _two days from now."

"I know, we're training here in America until the start of the fall tournament. I've called in a few favors and a few acquaintances of mine are going to be helping me," the old man said, winking at the two boys.

They both groaned.

OoOoO

The day after the game, the team, save 'Eyeshield 21,' was on a plane heading toward Miami, Florida. Jiraiya had told them that they were meeting his 'acquaintances' there and they would begin their training.

Jiraiya sat at the front of the plane and turned to study his team. Sasuke and Sakura sat next to each other, talking quietly to each other. Sakura was giggling and Sasuke was flexing, showing off his muscular form. The white haired man sighed, this kid, he had read all about what happened in the newspaper. It must have devastated him, his brother doing that to him, but he looked happy now. Maybe having a girlfriend did him some good.

Kiba had a window seat, his dog in his lap. Jiraiya shook his head, the kid had shown up this morning with the dog sitting on his head. When asked about it, the Inuzuka boy shrugged saying, "He was cute." The boy had said that as if it explained everything, it caused Jiraiya to place his hand over his face to hide his bewilderment.

Then the old man heard a rather loud "Shut the hell up and leave me the hell alone." He turned to see Lee saying something along the lines of 'the fires of youth' and 'aren't you interested?' Neji just sat there ignoring him and throwing in the occasional 'shut up,' though it never worked. Jiraiya chuckled. Now these two were an odd couple. Neji seemed to hate Lee, but Jiraiya thought that Neji was just trying to hide the fact that.....no, the Konoha coach nodded, Neji really did hate Lee. Lee on the other-hand was a bundle of joy and reminded the white haired man of a friend of his they were going to see.

Laughter from the right caught his attention and he turned to see Naruto and Hinata sitting together, talking to each other, their hands entwined. Naruto, now if there ever was a kid that dealt with a lot and still came out as a good kid, it was him. He was just like his father in almost every way. Jiraiya then turned his attention to the Hyuga girl. He'd heard of the Hyuga family; they were a proud family, lots of money, but they were nice people. Though, Jiraiya found it highly unlikely they would approve of Naruto.

In front of them were Shikamaru, Kankuro, Chouji, and the three brothers, they were brothers right? What were their names again? Jiraiya couldn't remember. Anyway, Chouji and Shikamaru were, well, being themselves. Chouji was eating and Shikamaru sleeping. Kankuro seemed deep in thought, like something rather important was on his mind, or he was sleeping too; Jiraiya couldn't tell.

He smiled, this team was an interesting one. He turned back to the front and settled into his chair. They still had a couple hours, so he decided to take a nap.

When they finally landed in Miami, they grabbed their luggage and exited the airport. Jiraiya stood there, expecting something. The team looked at him when finally Naruto asked, "Uh, what are we waiting for?"

Jiraiaya scowled, "He's late."

"Who....?" Naruto questioned.

"Ah, there he is," Jiraiya said as he walked away. He was met by a strange looking man. He had what seemed to be a piece of Under Armour that covered his face from the nose down, his hair was spiky and silver and, for some reason, was tilted to the side. He seemed, at first glance to just be some random guy, but when Naruto took a closer look, he noticed the man was, in fact, quite muscular. Due to his overly large Hawaiian style shirt, however, they went unnoticed for the most part.

"You're late," Jiraiya said.

"There was a ton of traffic, not to mention I was helping these kids save their cat that was stuck in a tree," the silver haired man responded.

"Don't give me that." Jiraiya turned to the team and introduced the silver haired man, "This is my friend Hatake Kakashi." The team was stunned, to say the least.

"He is going to be helping us with our training," their coach announced.

"Yo," Kakashi said. "Follow me, my suburban is over there. Just throw your stuff in the back."

"I don't think we're all going to fit in your car," Sasuke commented.

"I can fit eight, the others can go with Tsunade," Kakashi instructed.

Once again, the team was dumbfounded. "As in one of the legendary Emperors of Konoha?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

Kakashi shrugged, "If that's what you want to call her." He looked around and then whispered, "I personally don't think she's as good as they make her out to be."

They followed Kakashi over to his car, and eight people piled in. Parked behind him was another suburban. Before the woman stepped out of the car, Jiraiya spun to face his team. "Whatever you do, don't say anything about, well, you'll see." He paused, then added, "In fact, don't say anything."

Tsunade exited the car and walked around to greet them. Immediately they saw what Jiraiya was talking about. Fortunately, ninety-nine percent of them were too stunned to say anything. Unfortunately, the other one percent happened to be Naruto.

"Holy crap!" he exclaimed. "Are those real?!"

He was, in fact, talking about her rather large breasts. A vein appeared on her neck, "What was that you brat?"

Naruto, realizing his mistake immediately, laughed nervously, "Uhhhh.....nothing, never mind."

Tsunade scowled, "That's what I thought." Kakashi chuckled and the large breasted woman turned on him. "What's so funny?"

Kakashi shrugged, "I didn't say anything."

Tsunade scowled, "But you were thinking it." She turned back to Naruto and ruffled the blond's hair. "Pick a car you trouble makers."

OoOoO

After the drive they ended up at a rather large house with an even bigger yard. The drive had been...interesting. Naruto rode with Tsunade and had spent most of the ride questioning her about his father. He didn't really learn anything new, but he still enjoyed hearing the stories.

As they approached the house, Naruto noticed two people standing outside the house, watching as the two suburbans drove up the driveway. The one man had on a green spandex suit and the first thing that popped into everyone's mind was 'Lee's dad?!?'

The second man had a cigarette in his mouth and he looked rather relaxed. He wore khaki shorts and a blue polo. Actually, Naruto thought he was the only normal looking one of the group.

They exited the two vehicles and were promptly introduced to the two men standing there. "This," Jiraiya said, indicating the spandex wearing man, "Is Maito Gai, the famous fullback."

Lee's eyes sparkled, "Gai-sensei, I am Lee and I have read all about you and your martial arts career, you were amazing! I have based my life trying to follow your ways of youth."

Gai gave a smile that could have blinded someone and a thumbs up, "It's good to meet someone with such youthfulness!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Everyone else stood there, feeling a little awkward and trying to not laugh. A few of them looked around wondering if they had just imagined a cliff with waves crashing against it, or if it had really been there.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "And this," he indicated the man who had been smoking, "Is a very famous man. Anybody know who this is?"

The team looked confused and Naruto decided to speak, "Ummmm, who?"

Jiraiya frowned, "You don't know who this is? This is....this is...." He turned to the man, "What was your name again?"

The man scowled, "Shut up you old bastard."

The former emperor laughed, "Come on, get a sense of humor why don't you. This here's Sarutobi Asuma, a very good free safety and reciever. Kakashi usually stole the spotlight, though, that's probably why you don't know him." He elbowed Asuma jokingly and the man rolled his eyes and took a drag of his cigarette.

Asuma eyed the team, "So you gonna introduce them or what?"

"Ah, of course," Jiraiya said. He gestured to the closest player, "This is Sasuke, the quarterback and strong safety. Over there our our receivers and cornerbacks, Neji and Shikamaru. Here is our tight end and one of our middle linebackers, Kiba. Kankuro plays on the offensive line and right side linebacker. Gai Jr. there is the fullback and left side linebacker."

Asuma glanced at Chouji, "I'm guessing you play on the line?"

Chouji nodded, keeping silent and instead chose to pull out a bag of chips and start eating them.

"You forgot about us," Kazushige said.

"Oh yea, these guys are the brothers, they all play on the offensive line and defensive line, except that one," he said pointing to Kazushige, "he plays middle linebacker, too."

"Uh, we're not brothers," Kazushige pointed out.

"Whatever."

Tsunade smiled, "So you guys play a 3-4 defense? Impressive, that is a difficult defense to run. Even in the NFL only about half the teams run that kind of defense, but only a handful are successful. When run correctly it is very effective; I believe the top two defenses in the NFL this past year were 3-4 defenses."

Asuma pulled out another cigarette and lit it. "Let me let you guys in on a little secret, defense wins championships, plain and simple."

Kakashi snorted, "A good defense is a good offense."

"You know, not everything is about offense," Asuma said.

Tsunade punched the both of them, "Don't start that argument again." She turned to Konoha, "Look, if you can have both a good offense and good defense, you're pretty much set. That's what we're here to do, teach you to have both."

"And to teach you the ways of the youthful! Believe in youth and it will aid you in your cause!" Gai shouted.

"He could be the pastor for a religion on youth," Naruto whispered to Hinata. She giggled.

Kakashi frowned, "You failed to mention who your running back is."

"Oh, right," the white haired man said, "He's not here at the moment but-"

He was cut off by Naruto, "Uh, actually, I have something to say." He faced his team, "I'm Eyeshield 21."

There were a few coughs, Chouji even yawned. Kiba laughed, "Yea, we already knew."

Naruto was confused. "How?" he asked.

"Well, none of us got it at first, but once you started disappearing it was kinda like a light was going off saying something was off. What really gave us the answer was Hinata, always watching and stuff," Kiba explained.

Naruto looked at the ground, "Geez, is that the only reason you guys figured it out?"

Kankuro smiled, "Pretty much."

Naruto glanced at Hinata who had turned a very bright red. "S-sorry, Naruto-kun."

Naruto laughed, "Why are you apologizing? This saves me the embarrassment of everyone freaking out and asking me all these questions." He clapped his hands together, "Well then now that that's out of the way, let's get this show on the road."

Tsunade called the team over and they took a seat in the front yard of the mansion. "These next...what? 35 days? Yea, 35 days. This next month, you will be working nonstop, however we will be doing a special kind of training. Anyone know anything about hyper recovery?"

Shikamaru decided to speak up. "You give yourself twenty-four hours to regain strength after working yourself to your limits. Usually your muscle fibers and strength increase from what they were before you trained," the genius stated.

"Exactly right," Tsunade said, "but there is one problem with that method of training. It takes too long and you only have a month. So, you guys will train all day AND night and then rest the next day, so you get double the recovery."

There was silence, Tsunade glanced at Kakashi and flicked her head to the side. He nodded and walked off. When she turned back, the team had made a mad dash for the road, hoping to get to a nearby bus station or something, anything to get away from these maniacs.

Unfortunately, Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma were there waiting for them. They split up causing two of the men to groan and the other to laugh and say something about 'youth.' They eventually captured the team and had them tied up in the front yard.

"If you guys want to get better, you're going to need to trust us. Can you do that?" Jiraiya asked.

There were a few groans, but the overall consensus was yes.

"Good, get some sleep, we start bright and early tomorrow," Asuma said, smiling and taking a deep drag of his cigarette.

The team was shown to their rooms where they quickly turned in, preparing for the training they were to endure all day and night tomorrow. On the other end of the house, sitting at the dining room table were the former Konoha Ninjas, each with a cup of coffee in their hands.

"I gotta give you credit, Jiraiya," Tsunade said, "that's a talented group you have there; they have a lot of potential."

"Yea, but none of them can become emperors, save Naruto of course," Kakashi pointed out.

"Speaking of the emperors, did you do what I asked?" Jiraiya questioned the masked man.

Kakashi reached underneath his chair and pulled out a file folder. He slid it across the table to Jiraiya, "Those are the records of all the known emperors."

The white haired man flipped through the pages, scanning each one carefully. "They're pretty spread out," he said as he closed the folder, "Only one team has two emperors on it."

Asuma took a sip of his coffee, "Yea but you know which team that is, right?"

"Teikoku," was the reply.

They sat there for a few moments, silent. "Which emperors have yet to be discovered?" Gai asked.

"If I remember correctly," Asuma began, "All are known save for the fifth emperor, or the Gobi no Irukauma, the sixth emperor, also called the Rokubi no Namekuji, and the ninth, or the Kyubi no Yoko." He coughed a little after speaking.

"That's from the smoking," Tsunade pointed out.

"What are you, a doctor?" he asked angrily.

"Uh, yea, I am," she replied.

"Anyway," Kakashi interrupted, giving them the 'cut the crap' look, "can we really say we don't know who the Kyubi Emperor is? As far as I'm concerned, Naruto is the ninth emperor."

Asuma shook his head, "We can't assume that, not yet anyway. He still has to prove to everyone he's the real deal. Once he does that, I think he can officially call himself an emperor."

OoOoO

By 'bright and early,' the former Konoha football stars meant four in the morning, as the players of Konoha were all woken by Gai banging on a pan. They all changed into running clothes and met outside.

"Today we'll start with a light jog," the green clad man said. "We're running ten miles, and if anyone fails to do that we will all do two hundred push-ups, and should anyone fail that we will all do three hundred crunches."

They all stared, slack-jawed, at him. "Are you fucking insane?" Naruto asked.

"No! He makes perfect sense! By setting punishments, we will push ourselves harder to complete our goal of ten miles!" Lee announced.

"That is right my dear youthful pupil!" Gai shouted.

"Yea I get that, but I mean, ten fucking miles?!" Naruto exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever run more than three miles my entire life!"

Gai smiled, "That's the benefit of youthfulness, you always have the energy to spare."

Naruto hung his head in defeat, there was no arguing with this guy and his youth religion.

"Come! Let us begin!" he shouted, Lee echoing him.

Ten long, annoying, youth filled miles later, Konoha arrived back at the house. Naruto sank to his knees. "Kill....me....." he said between ragged breaths.

Sasuke was close enough to hear him, "Me.....first."

Behind the main group, Chouji was crawling up the driveway. When he reached the rest of his team, he rolled over onto his back. "Oh....my.....God. Someone...get...me...some chips," he wheezed.

Gai was still jogging in place when he yelled, "Everybody up! We still have a long way to go, my youthful compatriots! Go get your pads on, the real practice starts now."


	8. Chapter 7 The Fall Tournament

Hey everybody, long time no see. Before you declare me dead, here's the reason its been a while. I had the chapter done....mostly. I didn't touch it for a while, the 60 days were up and I lost everything. I was so depressed that I lost it and didn't save it anywhere that I didn't feel like writing. Not to mention Mass Effect 2 is amazing and took up like 3 weeks of my life, but that's beside the point. So I finally got my ass moving and got it rewritten and I think it came out better this time, which is always a good thing. Note: That guy from the Bando Spiders, the really good one, he's eligible earlier since I have to make it interesting, so no going 'that doesn't follow the timeline' cause I know and did it on purpose.

On another note, I'm really happy about the views and favs I'm getting, but people please. Where are the reviews? I need feedback people, for those of you that have reviewed, thank you, but please, can I get some more? I like to know what you think, but that's impossible unless you review, so please, I'm begging you for the last time, review. Leave a comment, do something....oh and enjoy.....

OoOoO

**The Fall Tournament**

Naruto stepped from the plane, shielding his eyes from the bright sun. He grabbed a pair of sunglasses hanging from his shirt and slipped them on. It was good to be back in Japan.

He walked from the plane into the terminal and waited for the rest of the team to follow him out. Neji and Lee were the first out, followed by Choji and Jiraiya. The rest of the team finally made its way out, but Naruto could not find one person. He scanned the crowd, where was Hinata?

He stood on his toes, and spotted the tell-tale raven colored hair. "There you are, Hinata-chan, I was looking for you," he said smiling.

She grinned, "Well here I am."

Naruto offered his arm, and Hinata wrapped her arm around it. "Then let's go." Naruto led the team to baggage claim and then Jiraiya led them out to the pick-up area. The old man scanned the cars, taxis, et cetera, before spotting the man he was looking for. He smiled and waved, getting the man's attention. He looked up to reveal a scar across his nose.

"Iruka!," Jiraiya bellowed, "Happy you agreed to meet us."

Iruka smiled, accentuating his scar, "Anything for a friend and my students."

Naruto laughed and bounded up to his teacher, "Iruka! I'm so glad you're here, I haven't seen you in ages!"

Iruka chuckled, "Glad to see you too, Naruto, though, its only been a few weeks since you've seen me. So how went your training?" The scarred man smiled at them and saw a shudder pass through the team.

Sasuke had goosebumps, "We'd rather not talk about it."

"That bad, huh?" he asked, snickering.

Jiraiya shook his head and smiled, "You have no idea. They met _her_."

Iruka paled a bit. "You mean...." He looked over his shoulder and then leaned in and whispered, "Anko?" A bolt of lighting pierced the clear sky and a second chill ran through the team.

Neji and Kiba were shaking violently. Naruto gave a weak smile, "We'd like it if you never mention her name...," he glanced at the two shaking, "Ever again."

Iruka nodded, "No problem." He looked back at Jiraiya, "I brought Ibiki, he's driving the other van. Just pile in to one and we'll be on our way." He turned to go but turned back to face them, "Whoever rides with Ibiki, please don't piss him off. We really don't want to have to explain dead teenagers to the police."

A murmur passed amongst them. "I was kidding," Iruka assured them, "....Sorta."

Konoha piled into the two vans, Hinata and Naruto both getting into Ibiki's van. With everyone loaded, they started up and began to make their way to the stadium where the opening ceremony for the fall tournament was going to take place.

Naruto sat next to Hinata and wrapped his arm around her. He looked out the window at the passing scenery, the large buildings, the people, everything. His mind returned to the team's past month in America. Their training had gone along....., he'd say smoothly, but that would be a lie. In short, it was hell. Ank-uh, that woman, was a monster and Naruto felt that she should never be allowed near children...ever. He was sure that she was a sociopath, especially the way she had treated them. Of course, that made Tsunade and the rest sociopathic as well since they let that person do whatever she wanted to them.

Naruto shook his head, he digressed. The training was difficult, but was worth it, at least he thought. But he couldn't help but have his doubts. What if none of it made a difference? What if they got to the tournament and lost in the first round. Jiraiya would be pissed....not just Jiraiya but all his sensei. Then he gulped, what about Anko....er, that woman? Naruto shuddered, they couldn't lose, that crazy lady would kill them. They had to win, they couldn't afford to lose. Naruto prayed for a miracle.

He turned and looked at the others in the van. "Do you think you'll be alright?" Hinata whispered to him.

He smiled at the girl, "I think we came out for the better." He hesitated then glanced back at Neji. He was staring out a window when Lee tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped and screamed, punching at Lee, "Stay away!"

Lee grabbed him, "It's alright, its just me."

"Shut up back there," Ibiki called out.

Neji wrestled his shoulder from Lee's grasp, "I'm fine you idiot, just leave me alone."

Naruto shrugged, "Most of us came out better anyway." Hinata chuckled. "No offense to Neji but I think Anko shoved _another_ stick up his ass."

Hinata slapped Naruto on the arm, "Oh, shush. Be nice."

Naruto grinned and leaned in and kissed her on the nose. The next thing he knew he was seeing stars. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and spotted a shoe. He looked back at Neji who glared at him as if saying, 'touch her, you die.'

Naruto laughed nervously and turned away. "I don't like him, he scares me.

Hinata giggled and shook her head, "I swear he's just like my father."

"Let's hope not." Hinata shot him a look. "I mean, I don't care how he is, I'm sure we'll get along splendidly."

"That's better," she said, trying to hide her smile, and failing at it.

"So who do you guys play first?" Hinata asked.

Naruto's brow furrowed, "I don't remember. Hold on, I have the sheet right here. I printed it out yesterday." He pulled a sheet of paper from his bag. On it was the tournament bracket and according to it, they were going to be playing the Nihon Machine Guns in the first round.

"You guys will do fine." Hinata laid her head on his broad shoulders and held his hand. He leaned in and kissed her on the head. And again he was seeing stars.

He raised his arms in the air, "All right! I give up!" He folded his arms and slouched down in anger, "I'll just sit like this for the rest of the damn ride."

Hinata shot Neji a glare and he shrugged, "What? I didn't do anything." She rolled her eyes.

OoOoO

When they finally arrived at the stadium, massive amounts of people were already making there way into the stadium to stake out where they would sit. Jiraiya gathered the team to him. "Okay, we have to be dressed in our uniforms for the opening ceremony. Naruto, go to the locker room now and get ready since no one is here yet."

Naruto nodded his understanding and grabbed his bag. He found the locker room and snuck inside. He was just finishing putting his pads on when he heard a clang coming from the hallway. Naruto's hair stood on end and he lunged for his helmet, slamming it on his head as quickly as possible. The door opened and in walked a small, little, brown haired kid. "Sena?" Naruto called out.

The kid must have jumped six feet into the air. "I was just-I mean I was-was......I'm just carrying someone else's stuff down here for them," he stuttered.

Naruto stood up and removed his helmet, "Relax, it's me."

Sena calmed down, sighing in relief. "Naruto, it's good to see you."

The blond smiled, "You look good, Sena. Must have gone through some intense training."

Sena gave a half-hearted smile, "It was hell, but it was worth it."

Naruto chuckled, "Same here."

"I guess you're getting ready early so no one sees you?" Sena asked.

"Yep, and it seems like I'm not the only one."

The two Eyeshields finished preparing, exchanging stories about their respective training regiments while doing so. Sena got up to leave first, but Naruto reached out and grabbed his arm. "I want to face you," he said.

Sena met his blue eyes, "We'll meet in the finals."

"We'll settle who's the best Eyeshield 21 then."

Sena nodded and extended his hand. Naruto took it.

Konoha's Eyeshield left the locker room and waited with Jiraiya as the rest of the team got ready and prepared for the opening ceremony. Within the hour the teams were taking to the field, the fans in the stands cheering.

Teams of all kinds entered the stadium. The Seibu Wild Gunmen, led by their gun-totting coach, the ever proud Oujou White Knights, and the demon lead Deimon Devilbats. Of course that was referring to Hiruma, who had somehow managed to sneak a gun into the stadium and was waving it around wildly and firing it into the air.

Konoha and its small team stood amongst the larger schools, but they weren't afraid of them. Konoha knew every team had the same chance to win, to upset a stronger team. Any given Sunday was the phrase used for the NFL, they knew it applied here as well. One game a week, they would take it one week at a time and would prepare as best they could.

Deimon was the team that stood beside them. Each team knew that the other was a threat. Hiruma smiled, his sharp, pointy teeth bright in the sunlight. "I hope you're ready Konoha, our Eyeshield 21 is unstoppable now."

Sasuke smirked, "And ours is an emperor. Top that."

Hiruma laughed his patented demon laugh, "Kekekeke, if yours is an emperor, then that means ours is as well."

This time it was Sasuke's turn to laugh, "We'll just see about that, won't we?"

"The finals then?" Hiruma asked.

"The finals."

The stadium fell to a light murmur as the head chairman of the National High School American Football League walked to the stage. He cleared his throat and addressed the crowd. "Welcome everyone. I want to thank all these schools for participating, but I have this to say to them. Win. Plain and simple. You all came here to play in this tournament, not to get second place or get eliminated in the first round, but to win. You are each one of many schools looking to win, and you will have to fight for it. The runner-up does not get a prize, only the winner gets the glory. So I give you this mission: Win." He raised his hands in the air, "Now let the National High School American Football Championship tournament commence!"

As Konoha was not scheduled to have their first game until the following day, the team was dismissed back to their homes and were to meet the next day already dressed and ready to go.

OoOoO

Naruto was holding hands with Hinata as he was walking her home. He smiled at her and she leaned against him as they walked. Through his teeth he whispered, "This is weird."

"Just pretend its just the two of us," she whispered back.

"Its kinda hard when he's breathing down my neck!" he exclaimed, shooting a glare back at Neji. "Does he have to follow us?"

Hinata sighed, "I told you already, our family lives together, which means he lives on our estate."

Naruto groaned, "I know, but still. This guy is creeping me out. Its like he can see through me."

The blond felt breathing on his neck, then his ear, "That's because I can."

Naruto turned around, but Neji was at least ten feet away, whistling and looking anywhere but in their direction. "How does he _do_ that?"

Hinata grabbed his arm and dragged him along. "Please, just ignore him. Enjoy this. Once the tournament starts, you'll be busy all the time."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "You work with the team, I'll see you everyday."

"Yea, but you'll be busy playing and then you'll be soooo tired," the raven haired girl complained.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I'll be sore, maybe you'll have to give me a massage."

Hinata smiled mischievously, "Maybe I will."

They heard a throat clearing and Naruto groaned again. "Why does he have such good hearing?! Now he'll never leave you alone."

Hinata chuckled, "Now you have something to look forward too after the tournament."

There was another rasping of a throat. "Shhhhhhh!" Naruto said, putting his hand over her mouth. "Stop making plans, he'll stop them. We'll just have to be spontaneous."

"Right." Hinata stopped in front of a large wooden gate. "We're here."

Naruto's mouth fell to the pavement below. "You live here? You could fit twenty full families here."

"Actually twenty-three, and each one has their own area," she clarified.

Naruto stared, "This is insane."

"Glad you like it," she giggled.

Naruto smiled, "I love it, it's amazing. It's like an old dojo."

"That's because it is." Before Naruto could question her, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek and fled inside. He was left standing in front of the enormous gate....with Neji.

When Eyeshield finally noticed the Hyuga, he face palmed. "I hate you."

Neji smirked, "If you do anything to her, you die." He turned swiftly and followed after his cousin.

Naruto groaned for a third time, "Why does she have such a crazy cousin?" At that moment a knife was lodged in the concrete in front of him. He stared at it blankly when a second embedded itself in the sidewalk closer to him this time. He laughed nervously, turned, and ran. All the while he kept saying to himself, "She's worth it, she's worth it, she's worth it..."

OoOoO

The following morning, Naruto met up with his team, dressed and ready to go. Their first match was against the Nihon Machine Guns, and they were ready to show everyone what they could do. As the game was about to start, Jiraiya talked to them.

"Look everyone, you guys have been preparing for this moment for a whole month. You have a defense that rivals that of Oujou and and offense that could outgun Seibu. You guys have the tools to win this game, but I want you to crush them. Slam them into the ground, make sure you put them down early. Go out and kill these guys."

Kickoff was to go to Nihon to begin the game, and they ended up taking the ball at the twenty yard line. Konoha's defense took the field. Sasuke called out to them all, "Remember what we learned, let's show them the new and improved Konoha."

The first play of the game, the Nihon quarterback dropped back to pass. He had a solid protection and was able to find a man open down the field for a ten yard gain. On the very next play, the quarterback dropped back again, this time finding a man open for twelve yards. Nihon snapped the ball once more, their quarterback throwing a bomb down the field. The receiver caught it in stride and was taken down by Neji after a forty yard gain.

Sasuke slammed his fist on the ground and signaled for a time out. Konoha gathered around him, panting. "You're fucking kidding me right? Did we just spend the past month wasting our time? I mean really guys, what's going on with you?"

Eyeshield snarled, "You _want_ Anko to kill us? Get your heads out of your asses and let's go!"

There was a crackle of static and then a voice came over the loudspeaker. The voice chilled Konoha to the bone. They looked up into the booth and spotted the woman. She was wearing tight jean mini-skirt, and a t-shirt with a snake running across it. Her hair was up in a bun and she looked....insane. "Hello kids," the woman said. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Do you not remember what it is that I taught you about defense?" She paused, "No answer? Such a shame, maybe I'll have to come down there and remind Kiba and Neji."

Naruto turned his gaze to the two, they were shaking uncontrollably. "Please no!" they cried in unison, "we remember, we remember!"

Anko smiled, her fang like teeth sparkling in the sun. "The hybrid is the most important part of your defense. You have two such players. What are hybrids again?" she asked, holding her hand up to her ear.

"They a-are the p-players good e-enough to p-play more than o-one position," Kiba stuttered.

She cackled into the microphone, "Correct, now start playing defense or so help me, I'll come down there and rip the limbs from your body." She turned and spotted security coming after her. They dove at her but she dodged to the side and escaped laughing maniacally. Somewhere a spying Hiruma was thinking, _Kekekekeke, I think I'm in love._

Once things had settled down, the game resumed. Nihon set up at Konoha's twenty. Nihon snapped the ball, looking to pass once again. Unexpectedly, Neji had blitzed off the edge and Kiba had fallen back to cover Neji's man. Neji hit the quarterback square in the chest and planted him into the ground. The next play, Kiba was the one that blitzed, spinning around a blocker and slamming the opposing quarterback into the ground.

On third down, Nihon had no choice but to throw the ball. As Nihon's quarterback fell back into the pocket, Naruto watched the kid's eyes. He remembered what Tsunade had told him. She had told him to always watch the eyes, they give away his true thoughts. Naruto watched and noticed how he was focusing on a single player. By the time the ball was even thrown, Naruto had already jumped the route. Snatching the ball, Naruto took it back the other way for a touchdown.

Following Anko's so-called pep-talk, Konoha rolled on to an easy win, 56-7. Naruto was the best player, running for three touchdowns, over two hundred yards, and intercepting three passes, one for a touchdown.

Led by Naruto, Konoha's offense and defense was stifling. Their next opponent, the Arito Grasshoppers, were steamrolled, 63-3. Again, Naruto was the best with identical numbers to his first game, but with an extra two touchdown runs.

Konoha was a hot team and they were on a role, their third team to face was the Bando Spiders.

Konoha exited the stadium whooping and laughing. "Man, we keep playing like this and we'll be unstoppable!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Hey now," Jiraiya cautioned, "Don't get cocky or you'll get blindsided."

"Yea, but come on, even if we played a horrible game don't you think we could still win?" Kiba laughed.

Jiraiya frowned, "Against these lesser teams maybe, but against teams like Oujou and Seibu, one mistake and its over."

Kiba nodded, "Yea, you're right."

Naruto glanced at his watch. "Deimon's match has just started, you guys wanna go check them out?" he asked the team.

The team quickly agreed and went over to Deimon's stadium. They got to the game about five minutes into the second quarter.

Naruto looked at the scoreboard; it was 21-0, Deimon. At the moment, Deimon was playing defense, however, Naruto was waiting impatiently to see their offense. His leg was fidgeting as he waited to see Sena run. Finally when it was time, he watched Sena expectantly. As Sena was handed the ball, he looked like he had been fired out of a rocket. He sped forward, straight toward a defender. Thinking that Sena was going to get tackled, Naruto frowned, had he gotten strong enough to power through others? He did not look like it.

To his surprise, Sena seemed to split in two, go around the defender, and then combine again on the other side. Sasuke called out, "What was that?"

"Shit, dude, how do you stop that?" Kiba asked.

Naruto was left sitting there, his jaw open. What he had just seen reminded him a lot of his Bunshin Run, but this, this seemed so much more powerful. Naruto scowled, he would have to come up with something better. He sat there through the rest of the game, gritting his teeth and racking his brain for some sort of idea to improve his running.

Jiraiya, who had been sitting next to Naruto and watching him seethe from the corner of his eye, smiled. "You want to learn a new run?"

The blue eyed boy nodded, "I need something better than the Bunshin Run."

The ends of Jiraiya's lips curled upwards, "How about I teach you the Wind Path? There are others, The Paths of Nature, they are called. But I believe you to be best suited for the Wind Path, just like your father."

"Wind Path?" Naruto asked.

"This path is powerful, focusing more on your technique, quickness, and agility. It can make your cuts deadly, and your movements sharper. If you choose to follow the Wind Path, you will be able to learn a plethora of run techniques that will 'sharpen' your run. And if you're really talented, you'll be able to combine them with your Bunshin Run."

"I can do it."

"Good, by doing this, you will be a step closer to mastering the most powerful run, the Kyuubi Run. The first thing you'll have to learn is how to run the North-South game."

"The what?"

"Exactly," Jiraiya chuckled. "We'll use this next game to help you master it."

"If you say so."

OoOoO

As they filed out of the stadium, they were stopped by a man playing a guitar. His sunglasses kept the team from seeing his eyes, but they knew where he was looking. He stared straight at Naruto. "We play tomorrow."

Sasuke stepped forward, arms crossed, "You're with Bando?"

The man nodded, "I'm a strong player....my rhythm is the best."

Kiba shrugged, "We have strong players too, what's your point? Both of us have our chance to win."

The man shook his head, "I don't think you understand me. Our rhythms don't seem to be matching." He struck a chord on his guitar, "I'm the real Eyeshield 21, how's that?"

Naruto had gone numb. Not five minutes ago he, a fake Eyeshield 21, had been watching Sena, another fake Eyeshield 21, and now in front of him stood the _real_ Eyeshield 21? Naruto couldn't open his mouth.

Sasuke shrugged, "Even if you are telling the truth, that just means that our Eyeshield will just have to beat you and take your place."

The man chuckled and removed his glasses revealing dark red eyes. He stood and walked up to Naruto. He strummed his guitar and leaned closer to the blond's face, "I'd like to see him try." He turned to go but paused, "You have an odd rhythm....its powerful."

Jiraiya watched the kid leave. That wasn't the real Eyeshield 21, he was positive of it, but that didn't mean the team had to know that. This game, he felt, was going to be very interesting.

OoOoO

The following week, Naruto sat alone in the locker room, the game but minutes away from beginning. He was to face the real Eyeshield, but could he do it? He knew he had the ability, that he had put in the hard work, but would it work out? Jiraiya had told him the key to the game was his mastering of the North-South game, would he be able to do it? So many questions, and yet so few answers.

He heard footsteps and slipped on his helmet. Sasuke walked in. "You okay?" he asked.

"Fine, just thinking," was the terse reply.

The onyx eyed boy sat beside Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to be alright. You can beat this guy."

Naruto looked down at his feet, "Can I? Will I be good enough? If he's the real Eyeshield, that makes their team ten times better just by him being there."

Sasuke smiled, "Then that means you make this team a hundred times better by being here."

Naruto laughed, "You're a great friend."

"I know," he replied, "Now lets go, they're about to call us out to the field."

As they walked down the tunnel toward the field they heard the crowd roar. They could hear the announcer saying, "Number 21! He has asked to be introduced as.....the REAL Eyeshield 21!"

Then the announcer announced Konoha's team, ending with, "And the challenger to the real Eyeshield's throne, the Eyeshield 21 of Konoha!"

Naruto jogged out of the tunnel to the roaring of the fans.


End file.
